A Woman's Heart and Mind
by 109th Star
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki has returned to Konoha for the first time since leaving to train with Jiraiya. However, during a routine jutsu, something goes terribly wrong. Now, a new Konoha kunoichi will have to adjust to a life she never expected to have.
1. Change in the Winds

A Woman's Heart and Mind

Chapter 1 - Change in the Winds

Naruto Uzumaki leapt atop a light pole in the middle of the bustling streets of Konoha. From here he could see everything. All of Konoha was laid bare below him. He smiled brilliantly, one of those grins he was known for, at the town he had left for two and a half years.

He turned his gaze up to the Hokage Monument, and what he beheld made his impossible grin even larger.

"So they've put Obaachan's ugly old mug to the monument." He said to no one but himself.

"You've grown up quite a bit in the last couple of years, haven't you, Naruto?" A familiar voice called out from a nearby rooftop.

Naruto turned his gaze to the source of the voice to see an older ninja with a messy frump of silver hair, his headband pulled low over one eye.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed as he leapt from his perch to the nearby rooftop, "You haven't changed a bit!"

Naruto landed on the roof with a grace that he had not possessed only two years ago. However his mind was on other things as he reached back into his pack, "That's right, I got something for you sensei."

Naruto quickly produced a familiar pink-bound tome with a large red circle with a slash on the back. On the front was a portrait of a kneeling man with thought bubbles filled with crossed out hearts surrounding him, the title reading _Icha Icha Tactics._

Kakashi, though usually being a very calm and collected individual, was flabbergasted, "What? This is… you… but… how…?"

Naruto grinned, "This is newest book in the Icha Icha series, three years in the making. I think it's kinda boring, but I think you'll still like it."

Kakashi gently took the book, cradling his new possession as though it were a child. He was still speechless from the gift.

Not one to waste any time, Naruto leapt from the rooftop to the street below, excited for his first planned stop of his return to Konoha. "Alright! Straight to Ichiraku Ramen!"

In a flash, the teenage ninja was in a dead sprint, heading to his favorite place to eat. However, on his way, he saw something that halted his progress to the salty goodness that was a bowl of Ichiraku's finest. A pink-haired young woman walking down the street with what appeared to be a blonde in her late twenties.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto called out as he skidded to a stop. The pinkette whipped her head around to see who was addressing her.

"Naruto?" She asked as she squinted to get a better look at Naruto. It had been two and a half years since the two friends had seen each other, though Naruto still wished they had something more. He looked at her closely, some of her clothing changed over the years. She now longer wore a red one-piece, but instead a red tank top with a beige skirt. She also wore shin guards and elbow pads. However, to him, she still looked like she always had, beautiful.

"How do I look, Naruto?" She asked in a slightly seductive manner, "Do I look more like a woman now?"

"You look fine?" Naruto replied with a smile, "You haven't changed a bit."

That statement, however, had the opposite effect than Naruto had intended. Her face scrunched up in a manner of mild annoyance, "You'll never understand a woman's mind…"

Naruto could only stare blankly, unsure of what he had said to annoy his longtime crush. He had been certain that he had said the right thing. However, luckily, Sakura did not dwell on it for long.

"You're taller than me?" She said, having finally realized that she was looking up to him for the first time that either of them could remember.

"Yeah." Naruto said as he put a hand on top of his head and moved it out across and above hers. Because of this, he missed the look of admiration that had found it's way onto her face.

However, the time for catching up with old friends was cut short as a puff of smoke announced a new arrival.

"Naruto-niichan!" the cloud called out, "Oiroke no Jutsu!"

Another cloud of smoke replaced the one that had just been dissipating. As the cloud cleared the silhouette of an attractive female could be seen. Finally, the dust and smoke cleared and there was a raven-haired beauty standing in the middle of the street stark naked, striking a seductive pose for the benefit of the men present. However, as soon as the beauty was there she was gone, replaced by another cloud of smoke. After the smoke cleared this time, a young teenager with similar raven hair and slightly similar facial features stood in the woman's place.

"How was that? Wasn't it one drool of a jutsu?" the boy asked.

Naruto chuckled, "Sorry, Konohamaru, but I'm not a kid anymore. From now on, you shouldn't use that jutsu either."

Konohamaru looked devastated at what his idol was saying to him. It had been Naruto that had taught him the Oiroke no Jutsu. However, Naruto continued on, "Such a jutsu is now mediocre, Konohamaru. Take a look at the new perverted jutsu I've been developing!"

Sakura, standing beside Naruto, smiled. She believed that Naruto had matured over these last couple of years, "That right, a new perverted…"

However, as soon as what was being said finally registered in her mind. Her face quickly changed from one of respect to one of blind rage, "A new perverted ninjutsu! You idiot!"

Sakura went to strike down Naruto. However, he had already started the jutsu, and a puff of smoke obscured her vision such that she missed completely.

She turned to strike again, however something was completely wrong. Kakashi and the man who had taken Naruto under his wing for the last two years, an old lecher by the name of Jiraiya were on their guard. Even Sakura's sensei, the young looking blonde, Tsunade was on her guard and had taken up a position between Konohamaru and Naruto.

"What is this?" Sakura asked worriedly, she could see, _visibly see_, wisps of red chakra jutting through the cloud.

"It's the Kyuubi's chakra." Jiraiya informed her, "Something's gone terribly, terribly wrong."

Sakura slowly backed away from the ever increasing cloud of debris.

Meanwhile, inside the cloud, Naruto knew something had went wrong as soon as he had began molding his chakra for his new jutsu. He also knew what the problem was.

_What the hell are you doing, you bastard fox?_ Naruto screamed inside his own mind. He knew that the Kyuubi, the nine tailed demon fox that he contained, was behind this.

Reverberating in his own skull, Naruto could here the fox's evil, maniacal laughter. _I might not be able to break free from you, kit. I might not be able to hurt you. However, I can give you a "gift."_

_What the hell are you talking about? _However, try as he might to get an answer from the fox all he could hear was the twisted laughter of the evil spirit _Stop this! Now! Goddamnit, answer me you stupid fox!_

As soon as the danger seemingly came, it passed. The fox's chakra receded and the cloud of dust and debris calmed. Everyone present eased up a little as the threat was seemingly gone.

As the dust settled, everyone could make out a very different Naruto. He now had long blond tails on either side of his head. His bright blue eyes were now framed by a feminine face, though it still looked like Naruto. Also, all of his clothes now seemed to large for him, and hung off his body. His hip and back pouches and pants were too large to stay on and clattered down around his feet. There, for everyone to see was a distinct lack of a certain part of the male body. Also, even though his shirt was much to large now, one could make out the hints of a bosom. His broad shouldered, male frame had been replaced with a slender, hourglass, female silhouette.

"Bro, that's pretty lame." Konohamaru said from behind Tsunade, "The Oiroke no Jutsu is way better. You're not even naked."

"NARUTO!" Sakura shouted, "What the hell are you thinking? Change back right now before I beat the everliving daylights out of you!"

Naruto gulped and did as the enraged pinkette said. He had no interest in taking another one of her beatings. He put his hands in the common seal to release a jutsu, however nothing happened.

"Na-ru-toooo!" Sakura said warningly, cocking back a fist.

"It isn't working… I can't change back." Naruto replied worriedly, "I don't know what's wrong…"

For once letting a calmer head prevail, Tsunade stopped Sakura before she could beat Naruto into the ground. She ran through a quick set of seals and her eyes started glowing. It was a jutsu for allowing people to see genjutsu, the type of jutsu used for the Oiroke no Jutsu.

"He doesn't have chakra covering him. This isn't a jutsu, or at least not one we've ever seen before." Tsunade informed the group.

"What do you mean? Why can't I change back?" Naruto cried out, "Help me."

"Calm down, Naruto. Let's head up to the hospital, I'm sure we can fix this there. Just pull your pants up, please." Tsunade said.

Naruto looked down to see that everything below his waist was bared for all to see. He quickly reached down and pulled up his pants before nodding and walking off behind Tsunade.

* * *

Hours had passed, and Tsunade was sitting at her desk in her office, pouring over papers, test results, and books. Across the desk, in a chair, sat a very nervous and confused Naruto. Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Sakura were also in the room, sitting and standing in various places.

"This doesn't make any sense. I have no record of anything like this happening… ever." Tsunade said. She continued to pour over everything, looking for a solution that wasn't there. "The tests are all conclusive…"

"What's going on, Baachan?" Naruto asked tentatively. He just wanted this to be over. If Kami would just change him back, he'd swear never to perform another perverted jutsu ever again.

"Even your DNA has been changed…" Tsunade said.

Sakura started in shock, "Tsunade-sama, surely you don't mean…"

"What? What's wrong? What happened to me?" Naruto exclaimed.

Tsunade let out a breath and looked the young man... woman right in the eyes, "Naruto. For all intents and purposes you are female now. Biologically, even down to the genetic level…. You are a girl."

* * *

A/N

I don't know where it came from, but I just randomly got the idea for this. I know gender bending isn't everyone's cup of tea, and that's okay. This isn't something I'm used to writing either, so it's going to be an adventure for me.

Also, I've started this without a lot of planning, so I don't have a lot mapped out yet. I know I want to have a romantic pairing somewhere down the line, but with the basic premise of Naruto turning into a girl, it opens up a ton of possible pairings. I'm not sure if I want to play it straight or go with a yuri pairing. (Although, I'm a large NaruHina fan, and am currently leaning towards putting this story on that path.)

Also, if you have read my other Naruto fic (Four Man Squads, also I'm sorry I haven't updated it in so long), please note that this will be a radical departure from that. FMS is a decidedly shounen work. While the romantic and emotional elements in that story are important they do take a back seat to the action. This will be much more shoujo, in which the romance and emotions of the characters will be much more important. That's not to mean that there won't be any action whatsoever, it just won't show up as often as in FMS.

Also, as if it needed clarification, this takes place after the time skip (right at chapter 245 of the manga). I, also, do not make any money from this work and the original idea for Naruto and all the characters therein belong to Kishimoto-sama.

Please read and review. Also, while it's not evident yet, this will have mature themes later on. Thank you for reading Chapter 1.


	2. The Reveal

A Woman's Heart and Mind

Chapter 2 - The Reveal

Naruto walked down the street with Sakura. However, neither was saying anything. Naruto had hardly spoken a word to anyone since she realized that there was nothing that could be done about her… condition. She walked with her arms crossed under her breasts looking down at the ground, a scowl on her face.

She had just left Sakura's house, but the events of the meeting with Tsunade were stuck on an infinite loop in her mind.

* * *

Naruto jumped up indignantly, "What do you mean I'm a girl. I thought you said you could fix this!" Her hands just barely caught her oversized trousers before they fell to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Tsunade said calmly, "But there's nothing medically wrong with you. There's no jutsu effect hanging over you, and all your tests are completely normal, except the fact that your DNA test came back with a XX rather than XY and you're producing more female hormones than a boy should. Combine that with the subtraction of certain parts of your body and the addition of others, and you're a perfectly healthy sixteen-year-old kunoichi."

"No way… I have to be dreaming." Naruto replied, "This is all just a bad dream."

Naruto let out a yelp of pain and surprise as she felt a pinch on her bottom. She whipped around to see Jiraiya behind her, "What in the hell was that for?"

"Well, if you want to check if you're asleep you gotta have someone pinch you." Jiraiya replied matter-of-factly.

"I didn't ask you to pinch me!" Naruto yelled at her sensei. She turned back around to talk to Tsunade, who was glaring daggers at the Toad Sage. Naruto wondered what set off the Gondaime when the realization of her current condition and what her teacher was dawned on her.

"HENTAI!" Naruto shouted as she jumped Jiraiya and lashed out with all of her strength. However, she wasn't used to her new body. She didn't have the reach she used to, or the strength. Therefore, Jiraiya dodged easily. Of course, the oversized clothes weren't helping matters.

Naruto was getting frustrated when Jiraiya rocketed away and through a wall into the foyer. Naruto looked up to see a very angry Tsunade standing over her.

"If I ever see you treat your godson… I mean, goddaughter like that again, I will stomp you into the street, you disgusting pervert." Tsunade warned. However, Jiraiya's eyes were rolled back into his head and his body was limp. He was obviously unconscious.

"Kakashi, if you wouldn't mind taking the trash out with you while you go. I want to talk to Naruto and Sakura alone." Tsunade said. "Oh and make sure you relay the message, just in case he didn't hear it before he fainted."

Kakashi pocketed his brand new copy of _Icha Icha Tactics_, and set about the task that Tsunade had given him. He walked through the hole in the wall, grabbed Jiraiya, and shunshined away.

"Now, Naruto." Tsunade turned around to the blonde bombshell, "I know this is rough for you, but you're just going to have to make do until I figure out what to do."

"I thought you said there's nothing you can do…" Naruto replied, pouting. Hell, she couldn't even recognize her own voice anymore. It just sounded so girly…

"There is nothing I can do _now_." Tsunade answered, "However, that doesn't mean I'm giving up. I'll contact the other hidden villages, see if they have anything on something like this. The Kyuubi had to have used some sort of jutsu on you, I just have to figure out what it is so I can reverse it."

"How long will that take?" Naruto asked, hope rising again.

"I don't know. I know Suna will send whatever they can, but it might take some bargaining with the other villages. It would be months at least before I could get anything from them."

"Months?" Naruto said dejectedly, "I could be stuck like this for months?"

"That's why I wanted to talk to you without the men here." Tsunade said, "There's a lot of things you'll need to know about being a woman, and not a lot of time to learn them."

"What?" Naruto said, curling up defensively, unsure of what Tsunade was talking about.

"Tsunade-sama, let me handle it." Sakura said. "It would probably be easier for him to learn from someone his own age at this point."

Tsunade looked over from Sakura to Naruto and nodded, "I was hoping you would say that. Is that alright with you, Naruto?"

Naruto looked up into the face of Sakura. It was unlike Sakura to be nice to her like that. Sakura just gave her a comforting smile, as though everything would be okay.

"Y-yeah, that'll be fine." Naruto replied. She couldn't even organize her thoughts, everything was going so fast.

* * *

That was how Naruto found herself wearing a pink tank with blue jeans. Sakura had given him a crash course in the basics of female hygiene and let her borrow the clothes. Both items were a little loose, but fit better than her old clothes. She noticed that, now that she was a woman, Sakura was slightly larger physically. She was at least two inches shorter than the pinkette.

Sakura had been doing her own sizing up as well. _I can't believe his… damn it, her breasts are larger than mine. Kami, they're larger than Ino's. The only one in our group who has bigger is Hinata… Why am I built like a boy? I'm never going to get a boyfriend this way…_

"Naruto, how about you stay over with me tonight? I could show you more about what you need to know…" Sakura tried to initiate a conversation.

"I guess…" was Naruto's indecisive reply.

Sakura frowned, she wanted to pick the other girl up out of her funk. She wanted to see Naruto's beaming smile again. "Just wait 'til we get to the shops. Tsunade-sama gave us a bunch of money. We'll be able to buy you a full wardrobe easy."

However, Naruto didn't say anything in response. She just kept on walking.

"Naruto? You can talk to me. What's wrong?" Sakura asked. Dumb question.

"You know what the fuck is wrong Sakura!" Naruto snapped, "I'm a fucking girl! A girl! I don't want this, I want my old body back. I don't want to be a weak-ass girl."

Sakura, despite her good intentions, slipped back into old habits, "Is there something wrong with being a girl?" she said menacingly, "Are we not as good as boys?"

However, instead of backing down like he usually would, Naruto flew off the handle, "Shut up, Sakura! This isn't about you, okay! Damn it, how would you feel if you just randomly turned into a guy? You have no idea what I'm going through, okay. You never have and you never will. I just want to go back, okay? I just want to go back…" Naruto dissolved into tears, her legs into jelly. She fell to her knees on the road.

Luckily, they were taking a shortcut and were on a side street. Therefore, there was no one around to see the outburst. Sakura mentally kicked herself, _Way to go billboard, look at what you did. She's going through the worst problem of her life, and you decided to try and make things about you._

Sakura knelt down beside the weeping blond, "I'm sorry, Naruto. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just that old habits are hard to break. Come on, I know something that will cheer you up."

"R-ramen?" Naruto said between sniffles.

Sakura couldn't suppress a smile. No matter what else changed, some things would always stay the same, "No, something better. Come on, we got plenty of money. We can splurge a little."

* * *

A few minutes later, Naruto and Sakura were sitting at a table in an ice cream shop. Sakura had a large glass filled with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream and topped with cherries. Naruto had a fully loaded banana split sitting in front of her.

"Alright, eat up." Sakura said cheerfully, "I know ice cream always helps me feel a little better whenever I'm down."

Naruto nodded and dug into her frozen treat as Sakura did the same. Naruto had to admit, while she was still confused and felt down in the dumps, the ice cream was a little bit of a pick-me-up. As the two of them finished their ice cream, Naruto let slip a half grin.

"Thanks, Sakura." Naruto said as they finished.

"What are you thanking me for?" Sakura replied, "I'm the one who snapped at you. This is the least I could do."

"Still, thanks." Naruto answered, "For everything your going to be doing for me. You know, helping me with everything."

"Don't worry about it." Sakura smiled, "I'm sure you'd be there to help me if it was the other way around. Feeling better?"

"A little." Naruto replied, "I guess we should go ahead and go shopping."

Naruto said the last part with such dread that Sakura was mildly surprised. Every girl she had ever known loved to shop, even Tsunade did on occasion. She had always figured it was part of being a girl. What she didn't know, however, was that Naruto had never had an easy time buying anything because of his status as the container of the Kyuubi. None of the shops would give him fair deals, always giving him substandard items or grossly overcharging.

However, the plan to go shopping was quickly shot down as the duo left the ice cream shop. They heard an excited barking and someone shout to grab their attention.

"Hey, Sakura!" Kiba called from the back of Akamaru. Naruto nearly fell over at the sight of the large white dog, he had grown so much since Naruto had last seen him. Instead of riding on Kiba now Kiba was riding on him.

"Hi, Kiba. Shino, Hinata." Sakura called out to team 8 as they got close.

"Hey, who's the new hottie you got with you." Kiba said as he looked Naruto up and down.

"Kiba…" Sakura started, but was stopped when Naruto pulled on her arm, turning her around.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Sakura whispered.

"I don't want anyone else to know. Please?" Naruto pleaded.

"Naruto, people saw you come into town. And they saw you with me, Kakashi, Tsunade-sama and the others. It's bound to get out that your back. What am I supposed to say when everyone asks me where you are?" Sakura replied.

"But…" Naruto pleaded again.

"It'll be easier to go ahead and tell everyone, Naruto." Sakura said, "I'll keep it a secret for now, if you want. But, it's going to get out sooner or later."

Naruto sighed, "Okay… but, I want to get this over with. Tell them I want to talk to them all at the same time, and I'll just tell them all at the same time. I don't feel like dealing with everyone's reactions all day…"

"Okay." Sakura smiled, "I'm sure everyone will be supportive. I'll get team 8 to help us. Where do you want everyone to go."

"How about that barbecue place Chouji likes, it can hold all of us I think." Naruto replied.

"Oi, Sakura, we're still here." Kiba said loudly, "Aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend."

Sakura winked at Naruto before turning around, "I'm sorry, she's really shy. She's new here and doesn't really know anyone, I was just showing her around…"

"Hey, I could show you around." Kiba said cockily, an equally pompous grin on his face, "It'd be a tour you'd never forget."

Shino let out a little bit of a sigh at Kiba's antics, and Hinata shyly stayed out of the way, she was never good at talking to new people.

"Shut up, Kiba." Sakura warned, "Before I castrate you."

"Oi, calm down. I was just kiddin" Kiba said, "No need to be violent. By the way, we heard Naruto was back in town, have you seen him?"

"Yeah." Sakura said sweetly, "He actually wants to talk to everyone at the barbecue. You think you could round everyone up?"

"Of course, your looking at the best tracking team in Konoha." Kiba bragged, "We'll get everyone there in two shakes of a dog's tail. Just make sure you bring your friend along."

Kiba gave Naruto a wink before he and the rest of team 8 took off. Naruto sighed exasperatedly at Kiba's antics.

"Is he always like that?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, he's a bit of a womanizer. I think he thinks more with his dick than his head." Sakura said. This actually elicited a chuckle from the blonde beside her.

"Just like ero-sennin." Naruto said. "I guess we should hold off on shopping." A touch of relief was hinted on Naruto's voice, "We should go wait on everyone to show up."

"I guess your right. Maybe Ino, Tenten, and Hinata will want to help us shop for you later." Sakura said, "Maybe I could get them to come over too and make it a girls night."

Naruto blushed a little, he was being set up to live any male's greatest fantasy. Being alone with four hot girls, "Sakura… I'm a guy, you know…"

"Last time I checked." Sakura said, poking Naruto in one of her breasts to make a point, "No, you're not."

Naruto sighed, "Whatever. Let's just go."

* * *

Meanwhile, Team 8 was running around gathering up the other members of the Konoha Eleven.

Akamaru barked at Kiba as the team flew over the rooftops of Konoha.

"What do you mean that blond smelled familiar?" Kiba asked, "I've never seen her before, and even Sakura said she was new here."

Akamaru barked a few more times.

"She smelled like Naruto?" Kiba said incredulously, "Like that guy could land a girl like that. Maybe they just smelt the same because they were on the road together."

Akamaru growled and barked at Kiba. Reminding him of something.

"That's right." Kiba said, "People only smell that strongly like each other if they're around each other a lot. The only people that are together that much are people who sleep together. Damn, I can't believe Naruto actually got a girlfriend while he was out there, especially such a damn cute one."

Akamaru let loose a few more barks. However, unnoticed by the Inuzuka, a certain Hyuuga heiress felt like she was about to break down.

* * *

Sakura and Naruto sat in a booth and watched as various members of the Konoha Eleven walked into the restaurant. Kiba lived up to his boast and it had only been about ten minutes before everyone was gathered.

"Kiba said that Naruto wanted to talk to us." Neji said as everyone gathered, "So where is he?"

Naruto stood up, "I'm right here."

The moment of awkward silence was deafening as all the others stood at him blankly.

"Good one." Kiba eventually said with a laugh, "I know your Naruto's girlfriend, but where's that wise guy at?"

"I _am _Naruto." Naruto said huffily, "I'm a girl now."

"Come on, drop the schtick, chick." Kiba replied, "Where's he at?"

"Damn it, Kiba." Naruto snapped, "Don't make me kick your ass like I did in the chunin exams."

"Okay, drop the henge then, Naruto." Kiba said, confident that the girl wasn't Naruto.

"I can't. It's not a henge." Naruto answered.

"He's telling the truth, I watched him turn into a girl." Sakura piped up. Suddenly there was a flurry of action as both Hyuga activated their bloodline trait, and a slight buzz was heard from Shino.

"Let me guess…" Shikamaru was the first to replied, "Kyuubi had something to do with it."

"How do you know about…" Naruto started, but Shikamaru cut him off.

"Every ninja learns about it when they make chunin." Shikamaru stated simply, "So, was it Kyuubi?"

"Yeah…" Naruto replied, "I was going to show Konohamaru a new jutsu, and the damn fox interfered. Now, I'm like this…"

"That's troublesome." Shikamaru remarked.

"Don't tell me you believe this horse crap." Kiba shouted, "He's gotta be jerking our leash."

"He… she is not lying." Neji stated, "My byakugan is not fooled by genjutsu. The swirl of chakra around the seal is the same as I saw in the chunin exams when I fought Naruto. The girl in front of us is indeed Naruto. What do you say, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata nodded in agreement. Waves of relief washed over her as she realized that her childhood crush had not been stolen from her. But, her childhood crush was now a girl. Did that matter? Hinata felt a confusion settle over her.

Meanwhile, several of people assembled were shooting off questions rapid fire. Naruto couldn't make heads or tails of anything anyone was saying.

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted, silencing everyone. "This is all just as new to me as it is for you guys. I'm confused enough as it is, and I can't even hear myself think. I know you guys probably have a lot of questions, but I'm still trying to sort myself out. I just wanted you guys to know, so you weren't wondering where I was or what happened."

"It doesn't matter." Shikamaru said, "You're still you. Man or woman, nothing changes that."

His part said, Shikamaru stood up and strolled out of the barbecue.

"I'm with Shikamaru." Choji piped up, "Naruto, you're still a friend, regardless of what the fox has done." Chouji clapped a hand on Naruto's narrower shoulder and gave him a smile.

"Thanks, Choji." Naruto replied gratefully. In return, Choji nodded and followed after Shikamaru.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man." Kiba stated as he made to walk out, his inner monologue obviously turned off, "I can't believe I mentally undressed Naruto. Bleargh."

"Come back here, Kiba. I'll fucking kill you." Naruto shouted, but Kiba was already gone and Sakura was holding her back.

"You can't fight yet. You still have to get used to your new body, Naruto." Sakura reminded her.

Naruto sat down in a huff and crossed her arms, "Fine. But, I'm going to neuter that dog when I'm back up to speed."

Neji and Shino left silently, as they were prone to do. However, Rock Lee, rushed up to Naruto's side.

"Even if the body changes, your flames of youth are still the same." Lee said with way too much energy, "I would be happy to train with you and help fan your flames of youth!"

"Umm… thanks, Lee." Naruto replied, "I might have to take you up on that."

"Yosh!" Lee exclaimed, and with his exuberant energy bounded out the door. Undoubtedly going to train with Gai.

That left only the girls in the barbecue, all of them looking at Naruto.

"What?" Naruto asked, feeling slightly uneasy under the glares.

"So… do you have anyone showing you how to keep care of your body?" Tenten asked.

"Sakura is helping me with… things." Naruto said. Still embarrassed by some of the things proper hygiene entailed.

"What are you going to do for clothes?" Ino piped up, "You're way to small to be wearing boys clothes. Heck, you barely fit in Sakura's stuff."

"Tsunade-sama gave us some money. We were going to buy her a new wardrobe." Sakura answered.

"Ooh, we just have to go with you." Ino said, "You can't leave it all to billboard head here, she's got no fashion sense. We'll dress you up nice, you'll knock the socks off all the boys."

"My fashion sense is just fine, Ino-pig." Sakura retorted.

"But, I don't like boys…" Naruto mumbled. However, in her head, Naruto was pondering if maybe she should start trying to like boys. That was normal, right?

"I haven't went shopping in a long time." Tenten said, "It would be a nice change of pace."

"What about you Hinata? You want to come with us?" Sakura asked.

Hinata nodded shyly, unsure of what to say to this new Naruto. She was facing her own confusion. She found that she was still attracted to Naruto, regardless of form. It had always been the blonde's personality, her determination, and her laughter that had captivated Hinata. None of those things had changed, just the package they were wrapped in. However, that part of Hinata's brain was at war with the part that said it wasn't proper for the heiress of the Hyuga clan to be smitten with another woman. Unsurprisingly, that part of her mind sounded a lot like her father.

The two confused teen girls followed the other three, who were giddily chatting back and forth. They were making their way to the commercial district of Konoha, but neither Naruto nor Hinata was to worried about the shopping that was to be done. Each of them was far more concerned with their own inner turmoil.

* * *

A/N

Here's Chapter 2 for your enjoyment. Next chapter we'll get into the shopping spree the five are going on.

Monkey3000: Yes, yes you are a pervert, lol.

Also, I think you got the answer to your question Imperial Dragon. Jiraiya is still Jiraiya.

I think I've came to a decision on how to progress with the romantic side of things. I think I'm going to try something else I've never done, which is a harem fic. I'm not sure on who to put in the harem, but I think I want to try it.

Also, I had a decent amount of view for this opening chapter. However, I really want to see more reviews. So, please, if you read it, leave a review.


	3. The Spree

A Woman's Heart and Mind

Chapter 3 - The Spree

Naruto walked side by side with Hinata as their group strolled into the commercial district. Neither really realized the presence of the other, or anyone else for that matter.

Naruto was still dealing with everything that had happened to her. Only a few hours ago, she had been a man coming home for the first time in over 2 years, ready for anything. Now, though, she was a mess. Honestly, if the world flipped upside down and it started raining upwards, she wouldn't notice.

Hinata was still waging her own personal war, between her feelings for the blonde kunoichi beside her and what was proper for her as the heiress of Konoha's most prestigious clan. However, the turmoil was coming to an end for the Hyuuga as her feelings were winning the fight. She didn't give a damn what Naruto was, she loved him before and she loved her now. If her father didn't like it, well, her father could go fuck himself.

Hinata stopped in the street as that last thought hit her. She had never even _thought_ of something so rebellious before. She always tried to be a proper heir, to bring honor to the clan. However, that never really got in the way of her own happiness. She didn't know how her father would like her dating or marrying Naruto before, but she always figured she and Naruto could fight through it and make it work. However, there was no chance that her father would let her be with another woman, it wasn't the Hyuuga Way. Also, the elders wouldn't go for it as she couldn't produce the next heir with another woman. She thought about these things, and realized she didn't care. She would give up the position of heir. She knew she would even let the clan disown her or leave it herself, as long as it meant she could be with Naruto.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked with concern. The lavender-eyed girl was just staring out into space. "Hinata-chan, is something wrong? The others are leaving us behind."

"Huh?" Hinata replied, snapping out of her thoughts, "S-sorry, Naruto-kun. I-I got lost in my thoughts."

"Naruto-kun?" Naruto replied, "I don't really think that fits anymore, Hinata-chan…"

Hinata blushed a little as she looked at Naruto's body, "I-I guess you're right. W-what should I call you, then?"

"Naruto-chan?" Naruto tried, "Man, that doesn't even come close to sounding right. I don't know, but it just feels weird when you say -kun, when I look like this…" She gestured to her body.

"Umm…. H-how about, um, Naru-chan?" Hinata said, "I-I think it sounds n-nice."

Naruto nodded and smiled, "Yeah it does. So you can just call me that, if you want, Hinata-chan."

"O-okay." Hinata smiled shyly, "Naru-chan."

"Heeey! What are you two doing?" Ino shouted from up the street, "Come on, we're wasting valuable shopping time here!"

"S-sorry, Ino-chan." Hinata called back.

"Yeah, we're coming." Naruto answered. Together the two of them rejoined the others, and walked into a nearby store.

"This is perfect!" Ino said as they entered the shop. "They got everything. Look, they even got that new line of make-up! I might have to do some shopping for myself while we're here."

"Hey, Ino, don't forget why we are here." Sakura reminded the flower girl, "Let's get Naruto straightened out first and then we can do some personal shopping if we have time."

Ino deflated a little, "You're right, where should we start though? Dresses? Skirts? Blouses? There's a lot here…"

"How about some underwear." Naruto stated quietly, "Unless it's normal to be going commando in public."

"I thought I lent you a pair of panties?" Sakura asked.

"It was just too weird." Naruto replied, "So I left them."

"Ugh." Sakura grunted, "I'm going to have to burn those jeans…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked indignantly.

"Alright, so undergarments first." Tenten tried to diffuse the situation. "How often do you do laundry Naruto?"

"I don't know, usually whenever I don't have anything else clean to wear…" Naruto replied.

"Typical guy…" Ino stated, "Well, you'll need a good base to start out with, so how about a set for every day of the week?"

"That sounds good." Sakura agreed. "So we need to get you measured. I'm sure you don't know your size."

"Measured?" Naruto answered, "How hard could it be to just try stuff on until I find something that fits?"

"That won't work, Naruto." Tenten explained, "While you might find something that technically fits, unless you buy bras that are specifically tailored to you it could end up being pretty painful or annoying in the long run."

"Yeah, the wiring could poke you." Ino added, "Or the straps could keep falling down, things like that."

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto said.

"Come on, it won't take that long." Ino goaded, "It's just part of being a girl.

"N-Naru-chan, it's not that bad." Hinata said, "Just a couple of measurements around the chest. Y-you don't have to take off your clothes or anything."

"Okay." Naruto replied, "Let's just get this done."

Tenten, Sakura, and Ino all looked at each other and mouthed the same word. _Naru-chan?_

The four girls escorted Naruto over to a section of the shop that dealt specifically with undergarments. There was another woman attending the area, a tape measure draped around her neck.

"Hello, can I help you gals today?" the woman asked nicely.

Naruto eyed the girl suspiciously. She remembered the woman from a few years ago, before she had made genin. She had accosted Naruto just for coming near her. Her fear of the fox was so great that she had made an enormous scene in the middle of the street, and had almost started a mob out against Naruto.

"Yes," Sakura said, "Our friend here needs to get measured." She pushed Naruto up front.

"Come here, dear." the woman smiled at Naruto, "This won't take long at all."

Naruto cautiously made her way over to the woman with the measuring tape, expecting some sort of treachery. However, the woman didn't do anything threatening just lined up her measure under Naruto's breasts.

"Mmmkay," The woman said, "You have a 30 inch chest. Now for the bust measurement."

The woman mover her measure up around Naruto's breasts, not too tight but not too loose. "Hmm… 34 bust… that's a four inch difference, which means you're a D cup. So you'll want to be getting 30D bras, okay hun?"

"Umm… yes, thank you." Naruto replied, shocked that the woman didn't recognize her. She walked back to her friends.

"Wow, you have a bigger cup size than me." Ino said, "I only wear a C cup. I'm kinda jealous, Naru-chan."

_Shut up, Ino… I only wear an A cup._ Sakura thought.

Shortly afterwards, Naruto had picked out several sets of underwear and had them sent up to the front under the order name of Naru.

"Naruto, why aren't you using your whole name?" Sakura asked.

"Because these people don't recognize me, and I might actually get treated fairly for once."

"Fairly?"

"Yeah, I've never gotten a fair deal from any shop other than Ichiraku. Everyone always overcharges me for everything." Naruto said.

Sakura didn't have anything to say. She never knew anything about it. It explained why Naruto didn't seem to like the idea of going shopping. She watched as Naruto went over to where Hinata, Ino, and Tenten were looking at some dresses. _I never knew… How bad have you had it, Naruto?_

"I think you would look good in some purple. I think it goes good with blonde hair like ours." Ino said, pulling down a purple sundress.

"I don't wear dresses." Naruto replied, "Put that up."

"Naru-chan," Tenten reasoned, "You're a girl now, you'll have to wear a dress at some point. I can almost guarantee it. Besides, how do you know you won't like it until you try it?"

"No." Naruto said flatly.

"Come on, Naru-chan." Sakura said as she got back into the conversation, "Just try one on."

Naruto looked over to Hinata, his only hope of getting out. However, his dreams were curshed as she stood there holding an ivory dress.

"P-purple might work well, but I think I like this better." Hinata said, holding up the dress to Naruto, "See, it accentuates her eyes and hair well."

"You're right, Hinata." Ino said, "That color does work well for her."

"Go on, Naru-chan." Tenten encouraged, "Try it on."

Naruto looked around from Ino to Tenten then Sakura. Finally her gaze settled on Hinata. The Hyuuga was practically pleading with her eyes for Naruto to try on her dress.

"Okay, okay." Naruto finally caved in, "I'll try on one of these things."

After a few moments, Naruto re-emerged from a nearby dressing room wearing the dress that Hinata had picked out.

"How does it fit?" Sakura asked.

"It feels good." Naruto replied, looking down at the dress, "It's comfortable. It's really soft…"

"It looks really good on you, Naru-chan." Ino piped up.

"So how are you feeling about getting a dress now?" Tenten teased.

"Shut up. Just shut up." Naruto retorted. However, she had been won over by the feel of the garment. She probably wouldn't wear it often around her male friends, that would just be embarrassing. However, It might be nice for whenever she was out on her own.

"Hey, here's another one in purple." Ino called out from the clothing rack, "If you like that one, you might want to pick up this one too."

"I don't like…" Naruto started, but gave up on the lie as soon as she saw the knowing looks from the other girls. They all knew that she liked the dress now, "Fine. I'll get it too."

Ino made a victory sign to Sakura and Tenten, who returned the gesture.

"What is that about?" Naruto asked.

"We were determined to get you to buy a dress." Sakura replied with a smirk.

"You are all evil…" Naruto said with a pout as she headed back into the changing room.

After trying on clothes for a little longer, Naruto loosened up and let herself try things against her better, male judgment. She had sent several more outfits up front. Afterwards, Ino and Sakura had given her a crash course in shoes that Naruto was still confused over. However, she found herself trusting the advice of the girls more and more, and let them guide her around. That was how she found herself looking at the make-up.

"There's so much…" She said, "How do you all even choose?"

"Well, it depends on when you're wearing it, and your complexion." Sakura said.

"Yeah." Ino piped up, "Say that you're going out during the day, you want to keep things light. A softer color for your lipstick and not a lot of gloss. But, if you're going out at night, you wear something darker with heavier gloss. Lighting has a lot to do with it."

"So…" Naruto said, "Do you all wear this stuff everyday? It seems like a lot of hassle…"

"I only put on a little during a regular day." Tenten said, "None if I'm out on a mission."

"Yeah, there's no time for it on a mission." Sakura said, "But, while I'm in Konoha, I wear some every day."

"You always have to look your best." Ino said, "You don't want Mr. Perfect to see you at anything other than your best."

_There she goes about boys again… _Naruto thought. "What about you Hinata? Do you wear this kind of thing often?"

Hinata nodded, "L-like Sakura and Tenten, everyday except when I'm on a mission."

"I guess it's something I need to learn then…" Naruto said, turning her attention back to the case full of cosmetics.

"It's a little early to be lumping something like this completely on you. How about you trust us with buying the make up?" Ino said, "We can teach you how to use it tonight."

"We?" Sakura asked.

"We were going to be having a sleepover after this right?" Ino answered incredulously, "Surely you didn't expect us to work to help Naru-chan and then not get to see the fruits of our labor."

"Well…" Sakura replied slowly, "I didn't really think about it…"

"If you won't have us over, billboard brow, then we can all go to my place." Ino stated as she put her foot down. "But I _am_ going to get to see what Naru-chan looks like in her new wardrobe."

Naruto kept silent, _Ino-chan is scary…_

The four other girls pointed out and picked a set of cosmetics for Naruto to use. Each of them had their own ideas on what they thought would look the best on the newest kunoichi. Luckily, before things could degenerate into an argument, a make-up artist came over and made her own recommendations for what would look good on Naruto. The professional opinion actually catered a little bit to each girl, so everyone walked away happy.

The make-up had been their last stop before leaving the store. The cashier at the front smiled brightly at the girls, obviously happy to have five pretty girls to look at. Ino flirted with the poor boy for a bit while he rang up Naruto's things.

The final price boggled Naruto's mind. _I could get enough ramen to last me for a year at that price!_

"Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered, "Are you sure Obaachan gave us enough money?"

"Yes." Sakura replied, "That's barely half of what she gave us. There's still a lot of stuff we need to buy. You'll need new combat gear too. And we need to buy you some of your own toiletries. Also, have you decided on whether you're going to use a pad or a tampon?"

Naruto blushed at the conversation topic, "F-f-from what you said, the tampon would be better for all the activity I'll be doing, so I was thinking of using that."

"You don't have to be so shy about it, Naruto." Sakura tried to comfort the blonde, "It's normal for a girl."

"So you just talked easily about these kinds of things as soon as they started happening to you?" Naruto asked.

Sakura thought back to when she first had her period. She was easily just as flustered as Naruto was when she tried to talk to her mother about it, "Good point. But, don't worry, I'm not going to make fun of you for it or anything. I'm here to help you get used to these things."

Sakura paid for the clothes and each of the girls grabbed some of the bags to help lessen the load on Naruto. They all strolled out of the store to realize that the day was getting late.

"Wow, I didn't realize we spent so much time in there." Tenten said.

"Yeah, we should probably grab a bite to eat." Sakura said.

"Oh, oh, oh, let's go get some ramen at Ichiraku's." Naruto suggested.

"No. That stuff is bad for your figure." Ino said, "Besides, it's all the way on the other side of the village."

"Umm… I-I know of a pretty good bistro that just a couple of blocks from here. We could go there." Hinata suggested.

"That sounds great, Hinata-chan." Ino said excitedly, "Lead the way."

Together the five girls casually strolled down the street, heading to dinner. Naruto actually smiled, a genuine smile, as they talked. She was stuck in a new body, and she still wanted everything to go back to the way it was, but she found out that she had some really good friends and she had enjoyed herself so far.

The change in mood in Naruto was noticed by the other four. Each of them fed off the change in Naruto's atmosphere, laughing and smiling more as they went.

_It was nice to see her smile again._ was the thought that ran through each girl's head.

* * *

A/N

I hope you all have enjoyed Chapter 3. I'm having a lot of fun writing this particular story so far, it's a pretty major change from anything else I have written.

Also, on the pairing front. I have decided to indeed make this a NaruHina fic, so that's something to look forward too. I've also decided to drop the idea of making it a harem. With Naruto being female, I just couldn't puzzle out how to make it a harem without forcing the issue. However, this doesn't mean that there won't be some twists and turns (and other players) in the romance department. But, I'll leave you all in the dark on that.

Anyway, thanks for reading so far, I hope you've enjoyed the story. Please, please, please, please, review. I've only had 5 reviews for the first two chapters when every other fic I've written has had at least 7 on the first chapter.

Again, thanks for reading. Next time we'll be getting to see the aftermath of the shopping spree… the sleepover.


	4. The Sleepover

A Woman's Heart and Mind

Chapter 4 - The Sleepover

Naruto sat at a circular table with Hinata on her right and Sakura on her left. Tenten and Ino were across the table on her right and left, respectively. They had all ordered and were currently enjoying their meals.

"So, we need to stop by the outfitter next, right?" Ino asked as she took a bite of her Caesar chicken salad.

"Yep, Naru-chan is going to need a new battle outfit." Sakura said, "After that we need to head to a market or pharmacy for some toiletries. Then when we're finally done with that…"

"We can do our own shopping." Ino finished enthusiastically, "And then you're all coming over to my house."

"I-I'm not sure that I can stay…" Hinata said, "My father…"

"You can call him when we get back to my place." Ino said, "It's just a sleepover with friends."

"Actually, I wasn't planning on doing anything like this tonight, so I'll need to run to the house to pick up some things." Tenten said, "I'm sure it's the same for the others."

"Y-yes, I'll need to go get a change of clothes and such." Hinata said, "I can ask father then."

"Me too." Sakura replied.

"Luckily for you, you got all your stuff right here." Ino smiled over at Naruto.

However, Naruto hadn't really been paying attention to the conversation. Her mind was still stuck on how different everything was when everyone thought she was a normal person.

"Hello… Earth to Naru-chan. Are you listening?" Ino said.

"Huh? What?" Naruto replied, still slightly in a daze.

"We were talking about the sleepover tonight." Ino said, "But you've been off in la-la land. You haven't even touched your food."

Naruto looked down at her chicken BLT, "Sorry, I was lost in my own thoughts for a moment. Also, can I get you all to do me a favor?"

"W-what is it Naru-chan?" Hinata asked.

"Please don't call me by my name in public anymore." Naruto said, "Naru-chan is fine, but never Naruto. Also, I'd appreciate it if you could tell the others when you see them. Hopefully, no one talked too much about my situation."

"We can do that, Naru-chan." Tenten agreed, "But, why?"

"Because this is the first time I've ever been treated as a normal person by everyone." Naruto replied.

"We treat you normal all the time…" Ino protested.

Naruto decided to let that slide. Even though Ino and Sakura had said some mean things to him before, overall they did treat him better than some of the villagers, "No, no. I mean everyone everyone. All the villagers and stuff. I've never been able to just walk down the street and not have someone curse under their breath at me or something like that. Until now, anyway."

"We understand, Naru-chan." Sakura said, "We'll do it the way you want to. But, you know, eventually people are going to put two and two together and figure out who you are."

"I'm actually hoping to get Obaachan to help with that." Naruto said, "I hope she'll make me a new registration, so this new me will be separate from the old me. That's something else I need help with, I need a new name."

"Well, we're already calling you Naru-chan, so you should probably use that somehow." Tenten commented.

"How about as a family name." Ino suggested.

"Okay." Sakura agreed, "So Naru can be your family name, now you just need a given name."

"Hitomi." Hinata blurted out. Her face immediately turned scarlet.

"Hitomi?" Sakura asked.

Ino smiled as she looked at Naruto, "I think it fits, Sakura. Naru-chan does have very pretty eyes."

Naruto avoided looking any of the other girls in the eyes, a blush creeping over her face.

"So it's settled then, Hitomi Naru. Do you like it, Naru-chan?" Tenten asked.

"Ah, yes. Thanks for the help, everyone." Naruto said.

"We aren't done yet." Sakura said, "You'll need a background, and a place you came from. You're going to need more than a name if someone decides to really investigate you."

* * *

The five of them hammered out the beginnings of a history for Hitomi Naru while enjoying the rest of their meal. As soon as that was over, the shopping spree continued. They stopped at an outfitter and nearby pharmacy to finish picking up the goods that Naruto needed. When they were done with that, Ino had her wish and the group did some personal shopping.

The sun was beginning to set as the group made their way around for Tenten, Sakura, and Hinata to pick up what they needed. At first, they didn't think Hinata was going to come back out of the Hyuuga estate, but eventually she did.

"What took so long?" Ino asked.

"I couldn't find father." Hinata said, "He's apparently out on business of some sort, so I left him a note explaining where I would be. I hope it'll be okay."

Not too long after that, everyone found themselves at Ino's place. Ino opened the door to let everyone in.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home, I've got some friends who are spending the night!" Ino shouted.

"We've made dinner if you're hungry." Ino's mom called back out.

"No thanks, we ate already." Ino returned.

"Where have you been all day." Inoichi asked as he walked down the stairs in front of them. However, he took one look at all the bags that she was carrying and immediately knew his answer, "Nevermind, I hope you didn't blow all your money again."

"Nope." Ino replied, "So it's alright if everyone stays here?"

Inoichi looked at the group of girls, "Sure, just don't stay up all night, okay?"

"Sure, dad." Ino said quickly, leading everyone upstairs.

Soon everyone was piled up in Ino's room and all of the bags everyone had been carrying dropped to the floor as everyone was glad to be rid of their loads.

"Thanks for all the help today." Naruto said to everyone.

"No problem, Naru-chan." Ino said as she clapped Naruto on the shoulder, "Besides your going to be paying us back right now."

"Eh?" Naruto said with mild surprise.

"Time for us to get a good look at everything you bought today." Ino said, "It's time for a fashion show!"

"It's been a long day Ino, can I just rest?" Naruto pleaded.

"No, I've been waiting for this all day." Ino said as she handed Naruto a bag, "You can use my bathroom, now change."

"Ino, please… I…" Naruto was then practically shoved into the bathroom by the other blonde. Looking around the bathroom, she sighed, _I just want to go to sleep… It's been a long day. _She glanced up at a mirror, looking at her own reflection. She couldn't help but to admire her own beauty, she wondered if this was the same face she had when she used the Oiroke no Jutsu. "Hitomi Naru… This is the new me? Might as well play along with Ino. Faster I get this over with, faster I can get some sleep."

Meanwhile, the other girls were stretched out on Ino's bed, having changed into something more comfortable.

"I-Ino-chan. Naru-can looked awfully tired, maybe we should have just let her sleep." Hinata said.

"She's right." Sakura agreed, "It's been a long day for her."

"Come on, you guys are no fun." Ino replied, "We did all this shopping, we got to see the final results."

Naruto played a good sport through the rest of the night. She did as Ino wanted, and showed off every outfit that the girls had helped her pick that day. Now, finally, she was down to her last bag, which contained her new combat outfit. She actually found herself hoping this one looked really good, as she bought three of them and she would probably be wearing them the most.

She walked out of the bathroom to show off her new working dress. She was wearing a pair of ivory, elbow length, cloth gauntlets that had a ring that slipped on the middle finger of each hand. On the back of gauntlets were metal plates to protect the back of Naruto's hands and her arms. Also, she wore knee high boots, similar to what Sakura wore. Underneath a milk chocolate colored leather jerkin, she wore the lightweight metal mesh that many ninja wore for protection. Along with this, she wore a milk chocolate skirt that went town nearly to her knees.

"Looking good." Ino said as Naruto came out of the bathroom.

"Any man is going to have a hard time concentrating on fighting you." Tenten complimented.

"Thanks…" Naruto replied, "I'm glad it looks good."

"The best thing is that none of your outfits had orange in them." Sakura said.

"But I like orange…" Naruto pouted.

"Yes, but you want to distance yourself from your old self right?" Sakura stated, "Then you need to change how you act too. You don't have to absolutely give up your favorite things, you just can't do them as much anymore. You should only have one or two outfits at most with orange in them. You definitely can't eat ramen all the time either, maybe once a week, but no more."

"No way, come on, Sakura-chan." Naruto begged.

"This is what you wanted, right? You want to try and make this a fresh start? This is the kinda stuff you'll have to do."

"Sh-she's right, Naru-chan." Hinata said, "Otherwise, everyone will figure out who you really are."

Naruto sighed. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew that they were right, "I know, it's going to be so hard though. I really liked Ayame and old man Teuchi."

"You don't have to stop talking to them. If you really trust them, you should tell them what's really happened." Tenten said.

"Tenten's right." Ino said, "You should tell those you trust. They deserve to know so they're not worried."

"Yeah." Naruto agreed, then he changed topic, "Now that I'm done with your fasion show, can I change into some pajamas and go to sleep. It's been a long day, and I want to talk to Obaachan as early as possible tomorrow so I can get that new registration made."

"Okay, Naru-chan." Ino laughed, "We did really well though. All of your outfits are to die for. You'll be turning heads every time you step outside."

"Umm… thanks, I guess." Naruto replied as she stepped back into the bathroom. A few moments later she showed reemerged wearing an orange tank top with orange fleece pants.

"You know we haven't showed you how to apply make-up yet." Ino said, hoping to keep the night going.

"I'm really too tired, Ino." Naruto spoke exhaustedly, "Can we please do it tomorrow or another day?"

"Yeah, Ino, I think it's finally time for us to let the girl get some rest." Tenten said in Naruto's defense. "We can get together and do this again another night."

"You guys are no fun." Ino pouted.

"No, we're just tired." Sakura said, "But, we'll definitely have to do it again sometime."

Each of the girls found a place to bed down in Ino's room. Ino let sakura split the bed with her. Tenten ended up on the sofa. Hinata and Naruto ended up on a futon laid out on the floor.

Hinata could barely breathe. Her mind was racing from the concept of sharing a bed with Naruto. She kept looking over to the long locks of blonde hair beside her in the darkness. She moved her mouth, trying to say words that wouldn't come, _Good night, Naru-chan, I love you…

* * *

_

A/N

Another chapter for you wonderful people.

Kyuubi definitely has a plan. If you've read the latest chapters of the manga, you might have a clue at what his game is.

Anyway, I'm glad that you all have enjoyed the story so far. I hope I can keep bringing you all a story that you enjoy.

I hope you have enjoyed Chapter 4. As always, please review, I really do like those.


	5. The Rise of Hitomi Naru

A Woman's Heart and Mind

Chapter 5 - The Rise of Hitomi Naru

Naruto awoke groggily. It took her a brief moment to remember that she was in Ino's house, having spent the night along with Tenten, Sakura, and Hinata. She noticed that her head was lying on something extremely soft.

_Was my pillow this soft last night? _Naruto thought, _I don't think it was..._

It was right then that a hand grabbed Naruto's head and pulled her down onto her pillow. Naruto then heard Hinata's half asleep voice, "Naruto-kun..."

Naruto tried to push herself up and away from the floor, however the hands that held her were surprisingly strong. However, she did manage to get enough separation to notice what she was laying on before she was pulled back down.

_Oh, man. Oh, man. Oh, man. _Naruto's thoughts raced, _Sakura is going to kill me if she wakes up and see this..._

What Naruto had seen in that brief moment was that her head wasn't resting on a pillow, but on Hinata's rather generous bust, and Hinata had a death grip on poor Naruto's head. Naruto's mind raced through ideas on how to get out from Hinata's grasp.

Quickly deciding on a plan of action, Naruto began trying to slowly wiggle her way out of the predicament. Hopefully, she could get free without awaking the lavender eyed beauty. The going was slow and arduous, but eventually the victory was had as Naruto escaped.

Hinata tossed for a brief moment, much to the horror of Naruto as she was still uncomfortably close to the sleeping Hyuuga. However, she simply rolled over on her side and remained in her dreamscape, a parting murmur escaping her lips, "Come back... Naruto... kun."

Naruto finally realized what Hinata's sleeping ramblings meant, now that she was free of the immediate problem. _She's dreaming about me?_

However, Naruto didn't get to dwell on that for long as Ino awoke from behind her on the bed.

"Oh, you're up already?" Ino asked as she rubbed an eye and looked down at the kneeling form of Naruto.

"Yeah, I just woke up." Naruto replied. She hoped that her voice sounded natural and that Ino hadn't seen anything that just happened. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Ino replied, stretching, "Was the futon alright?"

"Yeah, I slept like a baby." Naruto replied. It wasn't exactly a lie. She remembered that she had originally had some problems getting to sleep. But, once she had fallen, she was out.

Right then, Hinata decided to talk in her sleep again, "Naruto-kun..."

Naruto froze immediately where she was at, and her reaction was stolen directly from Hinata's playbook. Her face turned more red than a ripened tomato.

Ino looked at the sleeping Hinata, her head cocked to one side and a questioning look on her face, "Well, seems like she's having some good dreams. Doesn't it Naruto-kun?"

Naruto face turned a deeper crimson, "I guess..."

Ino chuckled before responding, "I'm sorry, Naru-chan. I won't tease you about it anymore. Anyway, let's get everyone up and get some breakfast before heading for the onsen."

"Onsen?" Naruto asked, "Why are we going to the hot springs?"

"Well, it would be faster for us all to bathe there instead of using my shower one at a time. The hot water lasts for a while, but not enough for this many people, especially if mom and dad have already gotten cleaned up. It'll just be easier this way." Ino replied matter-of-factly

Naruto nodded and went about waking up the others with Ino.

* * *

After eating a very good breakfast courtesy of Ino's mother. The five girls were walking towards onsen in Konoha. Naruto was on the lookout for Jiraiya, as she knew that was one of his favorite stomping grounds.

"I swear, if I find him peeking, I'm going to kill him." Naruto vowed under her breath. She looked down at her bag that held all of the toiletries she had bought yesterday. Shampoo, deodorant, soap, and several other things that she wasn't exactly sure what they were for.

The five kunoichi talked lightly and enjoyed some laughs on the way towards the bathhouses. Luckily, Ino kept her mouth shut about Hinata's dream bound murmurings, for which Naruto was thankful. The walk wasn't long, and before they knew it, the five girls were at the onsen. Instinctively, Naruto walked over to the blue painted door clearly marked "MEN".

"Naruto! Where are you going?" Sakura called out, "That's the wrong side."

Naruto stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the door. She immediately turned around, "Sorry, I'm just so used to... well, you know."

"Yeah." Tenten said as she guided the blonde to the correct side of the baths, "Come on."

The five girls took off their shoes and stored them in lockers before stripping down and entering the baths proper. They stopped at the faucets and showers before the hot spring to wash properly before entering the warm mineral water.

Naruto was sitting at a faucet in the corner, trying her damnedest not to look around a look at all the female flesh around her. She was covered in lather, quickly working to get clean so she could enjoy the hot spring.

"Um... Naru-chan." Hinata said as she approached Naruto, "I can wash your back for you if you want."

Naruto looked over her shoulder to see Hinata standing there wrapped in a towel. She still felt a little awkward about the things Hinata had said in her sleep, but it was no reason to deny her offer. "Thank you, Hinata-chan."

Hinata pulled up a stool and took up a sponge and set to work helping Naruto get clean. Naruto, for her part, sat there silently and enjoyed the relaxing feeling of Hinata rubbing her back. She wondered if she should say anything about that morning, but Hinata obviously didn't know about what she had been saying in her sleep and Naruto didn't want to embarrass her. The remained in relative silence as Hinata finished up.

"Thanks, Hinata." Naruto said as the other girl finished, "Do you need me to return the favor?"

Hinata nodded shyly and turned around to present her back to Naruto. She loosened the towel and let it drop to the floor. Naruto took a big gulp before she grabbed a sponge and began to wash Hinata's back in return. At first, Naruto was a little nervous about so touching Hinata's naked form, but after getting started she realized that there was nothing sexual about what was going on. _We're just friends helping each other out, that's all it is._ Naruto thought to herself.

After a little while, Naruto had completed washing Hinata's back. Hinata looked back over to her with a smile, "Thank you, Naru-chan."

"You're welcome, Hinata-chan." Naruto replied, "I'm ready to hit the baths now. How about you?"

"Yes." Hinata nodded. The two of them looked up to see that the other three girls had already entered the baths. The walked over together and joined their friends with soaking in the baths.

* * *

After they were done bathing, the girls began to go their separate ways. Ino, Tenten, and Hinata had to go meet up with their respective teams. Naruto had reminded them to tell the others about keeping her true identity a secret for as long as possible.

"Oh, you can come by the house whenever to pick up all your stuff." Ino said to Naruto before she left, "I'll be happy to help you move your stuff when you're ready."

"Thanks, Ino-chan." Naruto said. She then turned and began to make her way towards Ninja Ops and the Hokage's Tower along with Sakura. They were going to pitch Naruto's idea for her new identity to Tsunade. Both of them figured that the sooner they did it the better. Quickly, Sakura and Naruto were sitting before the Godaime Hokage.

"How is everything, Naruto?" Tsunade asked, "I know it's only been one day, but how are you holding up?"

"I'm okay, baachan." Naruto replied, "Sakura, Hinata, Ino, and Tenten have been a bunch of help."

"Good to hear it." Tsunade said, "But, I didn't call you here, so you obviously have something you want to talk to me about."

"Yeah." Naruto said, "I've gave it a lot of thought, and I want a new registration, a new identity."

"What?" Tsunade asked incredulously.

"When I was out with everyone yesterday, I noticed that people didn't look at me and saw the Kyuubi. They looked at me and just saw a normal kunoichi. I want that to continue, even if it's just for a little while. I figure that if I can get a new registration and identity, I might be able to keep it going for forever."

"What if you end up using the Kyuubi's chakra? People are going to notice then." Tsunade countered.

"Then I won't use it." Naruto replied, "Please, baachan, this means a lot to me."

"There's more than just saying you want a new identity, Naruto." Tsunade said, "You have to come up with a name..."

"Hitomi Naru." Sakura spoke up.

Tsunade stopped for a moment and eyed Sakura, "A backstory..."

"I'm an orphan from the Land of Waves." Naruto offered, "Jiraiya and Naruto met me early in their travels and Jiraiya saw that I had the natural ability to be a kunoichi. So he trained me along with Naruto. I came back with them since I have no where else to go and I humbly request the chance to serve Konoha."

Tsunade let out a small grumble, "You'll also need to change everything about yourself to create distance between this new identity and Naruto. Like what's your favorite color?"

"Chocolate and ivory." Naruto replied quickly.

"Foods?"

"Chicken and sherbet."

"Your personality would need to be different too." Tsunade said, thinking she had won.

"I've learned a lot during my travels, Hokage-sama." Naruto answered in a completely proper voice, "I will act in a way to bring the utmost respect to Konohagakure and the Land of Fire."

"Goddamnit, no." Tsunade said out of frustration, "This is nonsense."

"Please." Naruto pleaded. "This is a chance for me to actually have a normal life. It could also be a way to protect me. Akatsuki is looking for Naruto Uzumaki, shinobi of Konohagakure, not Hitomi Naru, a new kunoichi from the Land of Waves."

Tsunade massaged her temples with her hands, "And you support this?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Sakura replied, "The other girls helped us too. This is a great chance for Naru-chan."

"Naru-chan?" Tsunade asked as she looked over at Naruto.

"You can thank Hinata-chan for that one." Naruto nodded.

Tsunade let out a long sigh... "Fine, I'll do this. I'll have to go back and change the sign in logs at the gate to show that you entered. I also suppose I'm going to have to send 'Naruto Uzumaki' on a extended 'mission' of some sort. We are also going to have to give you a more complete history, what you have is a good start, but a little vague."

Naruto nodded, "Thank you, baachan."

"Don't thank me yet." Tsunade said, "You have to change everything, _everything_, about you. Your mannerisms, the places you frequent, and even your handwriting. You have to change them all. I guess you're also going to need a new place to live. However, since you aren't the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, it should be easy to find you a decent place to live on a shinobi's salary." Tsunade schemed, "I'll make the first couple of payments for you while you train to get yourself back up to speed in your new body. I should have a new place for you by the end of the day and you can move in."

"Thanks so much, baachan." Naruto exclaimed, "You don't know how much this means to me."

"Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the ranks of Konoha kunoichi." Tsunade smiled, "Hitomi Naru."

* * *

A/N

Something I meant to put into the A/N of Chapter 4 but forgot: There is a meaning behind Naruto's new name. Hitomi literally means "eye" or "pupil" and is a name usually given to girls with beautiful eyes. Which explains Ino's comment about Naruto having beautiful eyes.

Also, an onsen is a hot spring, in case you didn't know. Also, if you're confused about why the girls washed up _before _they got in the bath, it is common etiquette at a public bath in Japan to clean yourself before entering the bath and it's considered extremely rude (and a basis of being ejected from said bathhouse) if one doesn't clean oneself before entering the bath.

I'm glad to see that a lot came to the correct conclusion about why Kyuubi has taken this course of action. He wants Naruto to get pregnant so that the seal weakens before the childbirth and he can have a chance at escape. Now there's just the problem of getting Naruto hooked up with a guy...

Also, a specific review I want to address. While I admit that Shoujo-ai, yuri, girl's love, or whatever you want to call it, is probably embraced easier in Japan than in America. Please remember that Hinata is from a very proud and strict clan, she has a strict father, and she is the heir to the clan. In a clan such as that, I'm sure they are not going to be happy about learning that Hinata is in a yuri relationship.

Anyway, I hope you have all enjoyed chapter 5. As always, please review if you read. I still want them reviews, lol.


	6. First Date

A Woman's Heart and Mind

Chapter 6 - First Date

A few days had passed since Naruto talked to Tsunade about getting a new registration made up with the name Hitomi Naru. Now, she had settled back into a normal ninja life, training most days. Like all new ninja from a foreign land, Hitomi was on a 3 month probationary period where she couldn't leave the village unless given explicit permission from the Hokage and could only perform D-rank missions until the probation was lifted or some other extenuating circumstances required her to undertake a mission.

However, things weren't progressing as fast as Naruto would have liked. Due to the healing factor afforded to her because of the Kyuubi, Naruto didn't need to have rest days during training like most ninja. However, Hitomi Naru wasn't the container for the Kyuubi and therefore needed those rest days.

This is why Naruto found herself in her new apartment, which was much nicer than her old one, lying on her new bed and staring up at the ceiling and bored out of her mind.

"Gah! How do the others stand it? I want to go _do_ something. Anything." Naruto raged at the ceiling. Kakashi had told her to take this day off to "recuperate" from training.

She began to think about something to do, but she quickly realized that she wasn't interested in doing anything by herself. She wanted to do something with someone.

"I haven't seen Sakura in a couple of days. And I haven't seen Ino, Tenten, or Hinata since the sleepover." Naruto mused. She looked over at an old lamp, a hold over from her old apartment. She had went there with a clone transformed into the old, male Naruto so she could grab some things. "Naruto" was nice enough to lend Hitomi a few things.

"Enough of this." Naruto said springing up from the bed, "Time to get the group together."

Naruto went over to her phone and punched in the numbers for Sakura's place. The pinkette's mother picked up.

"I'm sorry. Sakura is working at the hospital today. Her shift doesn't end until late."

"Thank you. Sorry to have disturbed you." Naruto said with disappointment. However, she didn't stay down for long, she still had three more numbers to call. Next up was Ino.

"I'm sorry, Naru-chan, but I can't. I got to watch the flower shop. Dad's out on a mission, and Mom's in a nearby town picking up some seeds we've ran out of. I'm the only one here." Ino said over the phone.

"Okay then. Thanks anyway, Ino-chan." Naruto replied.

"Sorry. Maybe another time, Naru-chan." Ino said before she hung up.

Naruto sighed, "Well, I still got Tenten and Hinata." She called up Tenten next.

"Tenten's not here. She's out on a mission with her team." Tenten's dad informed Naruto.

"Okay. Thanks, sir." Naruto replied before hanging up. She had been so excited about getting everyone together for another night, but now it didn't seem like it was going to happen. She was almost ready to just give up.

"There's still Hinata." Naruto said, "Might not be as good as getting together with everyone, but it's better than hanging around by myself."

Naruto punched in the number for the Hyuuga manor and waited for someone to answer the phone.

"Hello, Hyuuga main branch residence. May I ask who you are calling for?" A woman answered the phone.

"Ah, umm... Is Hinata there?" Naruto asked.

"May I ask who's calling?"

"Naru... Hitomi Naru." Naruto caught herself before she said her real name.

"Hitomi Naru? Okay, I'll see if Hinata-sama is here."

Naruto waited impatiently for Hinata to come to the phone.

"Naru-chan?" Hinata's voice came back over the phone, "What is it?"

"Hinata-chan, are you busy?" Naruto asked.

"Umm... n-not really. Why?" Hinata replied.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to do something, together." Naruto replied, "I have the day off from training and I'm bored out of my mind."

"I-I guess I can, I don't have any other plans..." Hinata said. "Who all is coming?"

"Everyone else is busy." Naruto informed her, "It's just me and you."

The other end went silent, and Naruto wondered what was going on, "Hinata?"

"Y-yes, okay." Hinata finally replied, "Umm... What time should we meet?"

"I guess I can come to your place in a couple of hours." Naruto answered, "See you then?"

"Y-yes." Hinata said and hung up.

"Alrighty then." Naruto mused, "At least I got someone to hang out with."

Naruto was just going to slap on some clothes and find some trouble to get into until it was time to meet up with Hinata. However, she noticed the dress that Hinata had picked out hanging up in her closet.

She grabbed the dress, and looked at it. She hadn't worn any of the dresses she had bought that day they had went shopping. She had a hard enough time convincing herself that the skirt she wore for training and missions was actually shorts.

"She was the one who picked it out, and she thought I looked good on it." Naruto said to herself, "I guess it would be a nice surprise for her."

Naruto looked at the thin straps of the dress and realized that her bra straps would easily show. She chuckled as she opened up her underwear drawer and pulled out one thing that she had buried under everything else, a single strapless bra.

"I thought Ino was crazy for make me getting one of these." Naruto said. Frankly, she hadn't worn anything but sports bras, except for the one time that Sakura had shown her how the infernal contraptions worked.

Naruto pulled out the bra, the dress, and a matching pair of ivory heels, undressed and hopped in the shower.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Naruto was standing out in front of the Hyuuga compound, waiting for Hinata to show. The wait was made longer by the pain in Naruto's feet.

_I only bought these cause Ino said they were good... _Naruto thought to herself, _But if I knew how much these damn heels hurt, I would have never got them. Good lord, how to women stand these things..._

"N-Naru-chan?" Hinata said from behind Naruto. Naruto had never even noticed the other girl sneak up behind her.

"Hinata?" Naruto spun around. However, after that one word, Naruto was speechless. She had never seen Hinata in something like this. Unlike the bulky clothes she usually wore, Hinata was wearing a deep indigo dress that went down to her knees and seemed to shimmer in the light. Her arms were bare and Naruto could catch a faint smell of something sweet radiating from her.

"You look... stunning." Naruto finally managed to say.

"Th-thank you, Naru-chan." Hinata replied, "Y-you look very good too."

"I got you to thank for that one." Naruto smiled brilliantly, "This is the dress you picked out after all."

"W-well then, you're welcome." Hinata replied with a shy smile.

Naruto just kept on smiling, "So, this was kind of last minute, and I didn't really plan anything... so lame."

"It's alright." Hinata replied, "It's nice just to go out with friends like this."

"Yeah." Naruto replied, "I'm sure there's something we can get ourselves into."

* * *

Naruto and Hinata spent the rest of the afternoon doing various things. They had enjoyed a decent dinner at a local restaurant. There had been a disagreement about who was paying though, Naruto wanted to pay for the whole thing while Hinata wanted to pay for her own share. Not being able to lean on the classic "guy pays" strategy, Naruto eventually won out by bringing up the point that she invited Hinata out, therefore it was her responsibility to front the bill. Hinata relented after that and allowed Naruto to pay the bill.

Alongside the dinner, the two girls went out for a movie. Naruto wanted to go see an action movie, while Hinata was looking for something with a little more drama. Eventually the two settled on a comedy, and were rewarded for their compromise with what Naruto considered one of the funniest movies she had ever watched.

After the movie and doing a bit of window shopping more or less to just hang out, Hinata and Naruto found themselves relaxing on a bench in a nearby park, facing the Hokage Monument.

Naruto rubbed at her feet. "How in the hell do you stand these things?" she asked Hinata.

"What? Heels?" Hinata replied, "They don't bother me. I-I guess you just get used to them."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to these damned torture devices." Naruto cursed, "Whoever came up with these things should be strung up by their toes and beat with a stick."

Hinata chuckled a little at Naruto's outburst before she gazed back up at the Hokage Monument. It brought up a thought in her mind.

"N-Naru-chan?" Hinata prodded.

"Yeah?" Naruto answered, still rubbing at her feet.

"Do you still have your dream? Even though... you know." Hinata asked.

"Of course." Naruto replied fiercely, "Man or woman it doesn't matter. I'm still going to be the greatest Hokage ever. I'll protect everyone."

Hinata smiled to herself as Naruto turned her attention back to her aching feet. She was happy that Naruto was still Naruto, and it only solidified the decision in her mind to keep chasing her dream of being with Naruto.

Soon, the streetlamps kicked on as the sun began to dip below the horizon. Hinata sighed, although she wanted nothing more than to stay with Naruto it was about time for the day to come to an end.

"I think it's time for me to go home, Naruto. Father doesn't like it when I stay out after dark." Hinata said.

"Yeah, I guess I'll walk you home, then." Naruto replied. She put her heels back on and stood up, waiting for Hinata to do the same.

Together, the two of them casually strolled back to the Hyuuga residence. They stopped outside the gates.

Hinata smiled shyly as she opened the gate up, "Thanks for asking me out tonight, Naru-chan. I had a really good time."

"I did too." Naruto replied, "To tell you the truth, I was really bummed out at first because I wanted to get all of us together. You know, Sakura, Ino, Tenten, you and me... but, now I'm glad it was just me and you. Tenten's not bad, but Sakura and Ino can be really bossy if you let them. I can just hang out with you."

"Thanks." Hinata replied, a small blush creeping over her face.

"Listen to me ramble on." Naruto sighed, "Look, I guess the point is that I'd like to do this again sometime, just me and you."

"Really?" Hinata asked, her blush darkening.

"Yeah, really." Naruto laughed, "I had a great time." Naruto then looked down at her feet, "Though I'm definitely wearing more comfortable shoes next time. I swear I'm gonna kill Ino for making me buy these..."

Hinata chuckled again, "Give it time, Naru-chan. You'll get used to them eventually. Thanks again for taking me out today. Good night."

"Good night, Hinata-chan." Naruto replied.

In a spur of the moment decision, Hinata darted towards Naruto and quickly planted a kiss on the other girls cheek before quickly dodging back into the gate and rushing to her house.

Naruto stood at the gate stunned. She brought a hand up to the cheek that Hinata had just kissed. _What in the world was that?_

Meanwhile, Hinata had all but collapsed as soon as she closed her door. Little did Naruto know, but the lavender-eyed Hyuuga had wanted to say so much more than she had. _Why can't I tell her? It's just three words, three little words. Why? Why can't I say "I love you."?

* * *

_

Naruto finally got her legs to start working a few moments after Hinata had darted back into her home. Now she was walking home under the light of the streetlamps, trying to figure out what was behind that kiss. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts, she never even noticed the ninja approach her from behind until he laid his arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, cutie." The man tried to get his mack on, "What you doin out here by yourself?"

Naruto rolled her shoulder out from under the man's arm. She noticed the chunin's vest the guy was wearing, "I'm on my way home after being out with a friend."

"Oh, you got some friends here already?" the man replied, "You ain't been here long, Hitomi-chan, you must make friends quick."

"How do you know my name?" Naruto asked. She prepared herself for a fight, just in case this guy decided to cross the line.

"Ah, I work in the Hokage's Tower. I snuck a peek at the new registration going through. So you came from the Land of Waves, eh?"

"Yeah. I met Jiraiya-sama and Naruto-kun and they were nice enough to take me with them." Naruto said the well rehearsed background.

"So, what's your relationship with the brat?" the man asked, "Me and some friends saw you walking to his house the other day actin' all buddy buddy. Don't tell me your his girlfriend?"

"And if I am?" Naruto answered argumentatively. She wanted this bozo to just leave her alone.

"Well then that's no good. You're way to cute for a loser like him." the man responded, "Did he tell you what he is? Surely, you wouldn't be datin' him if you knew he was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."

"Yes, he told me. I don't see what that matters." Naruto replied calmly, "He saves this town every day just by living."

"Pssh," the man blew off her assertion, "We'd all be better off if him and his demon were dead. I bet you've never had another guy have you?" The man replaced his arm on her shoulder and used his other hand to start rubbing her in a very inappropriate manner. "How about I show you what a real man can do, sweet cheeks."

"Get your damn hands off me." Naruto pushed the man away roughly and tried to walk away.

However the douchebag was not to be denied as he grabbed her from behind, "Trust me, baby, you'll never know what hit you."

"I said no, cocksucker!" Naruto said stomping her heel down on the man's foot. Her ears were treated with a very gratifying crack as one of the man's toes broke from the stomp. The sudden shock of pain caused the man to release Naruto. She promptly began to run as fast as she could home.

"You fucking bitch!" The man shouted as he gave chase.

Naruto ran as hard as she could, eventually kicking off her heels as they were slowing her down. She ducked down an alley to try and lose the man, she was getting ready to launch up to the rooftops for a quicker getaway, when she ran into another man.

The second man quickly grabbed her wrists and spun her around so that her back was to him and her arms were crossed in front of her. The man leaned down and whispered in her ear as she tried to squirm free, "You did a naughty, naughty thing, Hitome-chan. Now you're going to be punished.

"Let go of me, you sick fuck!" Naruto screamed as she tried to fight free. However, it was no use as the other man was just too strong for her.

The first man skidded to a halt in front of the alley and stalked his way towards Naruto, "You broke my fucking toe, you stupid whore." The man cursed as he drew near. He raised a hand and slapped Naruto across the same cheek that Hinata had kissed just minutes ago, "No it's time to repay the favor, slut."

The man raised his hand again to strike, but his accomplice turned Naruto away from him before speaking, "Stop, Aki. I'm not going to want to do anything with her if she's all bruised up. She too beautiful to bruise up, anyway."

"Tch, what-the-fuck-ever, Yu." Aki replied, "I'll relieve my frustration on something else then."

"Let me go, goddamnit." Naruto said as she futilely struggled to free herself, "I'm not doing anything with you fuckers."

"Ah, but you don't have a choice now, Kyuubi's bitch." Yu whispered as he licked her ear, which caused her to struggle more, "All you can do now is sit back and enjoy the ride."

Naruto strained and kicked wildly as the man leaned back and lifted her effortlessly off the ground.

Aki quickly caught one of her legs and lifted it up, exposing her snow white panties.

"Stop, please." Naruto said, trying anything to end this nightmare.

"Oh, now she wants to act all nice and shit." Aki said as he slipped a hand into her panties and began to explore her womanly parts, "Where was that attitude when you were crushing my toe?"

Naruto's breath hitched as she felt a sensation that she had never felt before. She could feel the man's fingers rubbing up and down her vagina. She could also feel tears beginning to roll down her cheeks, "Please stop... please."

"Nope, the fun's only just beginning." Aki laughed as he used his free hand to roughly play with Naruto's breast and began to suck on her neck.

Naruto began to plea for them to stop again, but her words turned into a whimper as Aki plunged two fingers into her.

"That was a nice sound." Yu whispered as he switched ears.

The next sounds Naruto terrified her as she heard cloth rip and could feel that her panties had been removed. That was followed by the metallic jingle of a belt coming undone and then the sound of heavy, combat-quality, cloth hitting the ground.

"Now it's time for the main course, bitch." Aki said with a maniacal, perverted laugh.

At the same time, Naruto's head throbbed as she could hear the Kyuubi laughing along with Aki.

_Somebody, please... _Naruto cried inside her own mind as her tears fell to the ground, _...help me.

* * *

_

A/N

Yeah, I know I'm evil. However, I got to make sure that you all come back, right? Poor, Naru-chan's in one hell of pickle.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I should say if I hope you enjoyed this chapter (considering the ending here), but thank you for reading chapter 6. Please review, you know I like those, they make me very very happy.


	7. Strength of the Mind

A Woman's Heart and Mind

Chapter 7 - Strength of the Mind

Tsunade poured over a ton of files on her desk. Ever since the first meeting with the transformed Naruto, Tsunade had been working diligently on finding a way on how to reverse what had happened. She had went over every file in the hospital and all of Naruto's medical records multiple times, trying to find something she might have missed.

Eventually, she changed tactics and started to focus on the Kyuubi and anything related to the demon fox. Damage reports from the attack, reports from ninjas that had fought against the beast and lived, there were a myriad of papers relating to Kyuubi, and none of them contained any pertinent information on Naruto's condition.

However, Tsunade tossed aside the file she had been looking through to see something interesting laying underneath it. There was a folder marked with the seal of the Hokage, marking the file as part of the Hokage's personal library. It was a file only the Hokage and those given permission by the Hokage could read, and the title interested Tsunade greatly. The header was a woman's name, "Uzumaki, Kushina."

Tsunade opened the file and began sorting through the gathered information. She had left the village before the Yondaime had taken office and before his marriage of Kushina, so she didn't know much about Naruto's mother. Inside the folder was details of not only Kushina's medical history and mission logs, but a small amount of information was present on her clan's heritage, history, and the village they had come from.

"Seals masters, hmmm?" Tsunade mused as she began reading over the file, "So Kushina was also a jinchuuriki of Kyuubi, and it seems they used the same seal on her as they used on Naruto..." Tsunade continued on, "Complete control of the Kyuubi's chakra? That's possible? That would be a great boon to Naruto if he could learn how to completely control the demon."

Tsunade continued reading and musing to herself until she reached a section written by the Yondaime detailing seals to be used during Naruto's birth. Tsunade was confused, "Why would they need so many complex seals during a childbirth?" She read on until she found the reason, and she stared in shock at the page for a few brief moments while she let the truth of the situation settled over her. It wasn't exactly the information she was looking for, but it was very relevant to Naruto's situation. Tsunade now knew the Kyuubi's game and what he was after.

* * *

Naruto intensified her struggle to free herself from the grasp of the man behind her, but she couldn't overpower him. She could swear he was laughing at her attempts to free herself. She even tried to writhe her hands free so she could attempt to use a jutsu but Yu's hands were like vices and she couldn't even get close.

Meanwhile, Aki was drawing closer. He still had a good hold of her one leg, and he ran his hand down it as he closed the gap. She could now feel a pressure on the outside of her sex. In a panicked attack she rose her free leg up and attempted to knee the man in the head. However, Aki deftly blocked the attack with his free arm.

"Ah ah ah!" Aki smiled, "That was naughty, Hitomi-chan. It's time for your pun... ish... ment..."

Naruto and Yu both stared in a bit of shock as Aki collapsed to the ground in a heap. Naruto's eyes widened in recognition as she saw several small insects emerge from under the collapsed ninja. Yu's grip on Naruto loosened for but a moment, but Naruto used the momentary distraction to her advantage as she used Aki's body as a springboard and pushed Yu backward.

Unprepared for the sudden momentum and shift in balance, Yu toppled backwards, bringing Naruto with him. Naruto contorted herself in midair and landed so that her elbow was planted in Yu's solar plexus. The tried to put as much momentum and power as she could behind the blow and drove the air from Yu's lungs. That loosened Yu's grips on Naruto's arms and she managed to free one before he could recover. Quickly running through some signs, she decided to try out one of the new jutsu that she had learned while training with Jiraiya.

"Raiton: Shocking Touch!" Naruto said as electricity cackled on her fingertips. She then punched Yu in the stomach, transferring the electrical pulse into him, causing his muscles convulse involuntarily.

Naruto freed herself from Yu finally and approached Aki. She reared her leg back and kicked him square in the nether region. She only wished that the man was awake to feel it.

"You! Fucking! BASTARD!" Naruto screamed, punctuating each word with a kick that was harder that the last. Rage coursing through her veins, and not content to leave it as it was, Naruto balled up her fist and prepared to pummel the ever living hell out of the man who had sexually assaulted and came close to raping her.

However, just as her hand was about to fall, she felt someone stop her. Thinking that Yu had gotten back up from her jutsu, She quickly pivoted and launched a kick at the head of the person holding her arm. Her eyes widened as she watched her kick strike a wall of buzzing insects. Her eyes eventually found the hooded form and sunglasses covered face of Shino Aburame

"That's enough, Hitomi-san." Shino said calmly, "They are beaten. I have sent a bug to alert the ANBU, they will make sure these men are taken care of."

Naruto shook her arm free of Shino, "I don't want them 'taken care of', I want them dead!"

"That's still illegal, now that they are unconscious." Shino replied evenly, "And you are still on probation, you don't even have to be convicted for there to be serious consequences."

Naruto wasn't having none of it and went to punch Aki anyway only to be caught again by Shino. This time, however, Shino did not simply hold Naruto, he picked her up by the arm and dragged her away from the man.

"Do not make me fight you, Hitomi-san." Shino warned, "It is over."

Naruto stared Shino down for a few moments before she collapsed onto the ground, her blinding rage finally leaving her. She sobbed a little as she realized that she was finally safe. "I thought... I thought I was... They were going to..."

Shino, wary of the emotional stress that an incident of this type could play on a person's psyche, tried to console the weeping blonde, "It's alright Hitomi-san. It is over now, and you'll never have to see those men again." However, the one thing Shino made sure not to do was touch Naruto. He was unsure if she would trust another man trying to touch her.

Shino turned his attention to the fallen ninja. He had enough bugs feeding off of each of their chakra to make sure they stayed unconscious until the ANBU showed up. Now, his main concern was making sure Naruto was okay, and then after that he was going to make a direct report to the Hokage. He looked down at Naruto, "Did they hurt you anywhere, Hitomi-san?"

"N-no." Naruto replied, "I'm okay."

"I will escort you to the hospital, so they can run tests, just to make sure." Shino replied, following the protocol for caring for the victim of a sexual assault.

"No, I'm okay, really." Naruto answered, "You stopped him before he could..."

"I understand." Shino tried to convince Naruto, "But, it is standard procedure for you to be taken to a hospital, just to be sure."

"I said no, I don't want any uppity nurses talking about what happened to me." Naruto answered forcefully, "I just want to go home."

"Hitomi-san, please." Shino asked, "I can't allow you to go without receiving medical attention."

Naruto looked darkly up at Shino, "I don't want anyone else to know, I just want this all to go away. Please, just let me go."

Shino was about to voice another protest when an idea struck him, "I can't allow you to not receive some sort of aid. However, I do not necessarily have to take you to a hospital. We can get a medic-nin to make sure you're okay. We can go to Sakura, Shizune, or we can see if Tsunade-sama would see you personally."

Naruto sighed as she realized that Shino wasn't going to let this go, "Sakura-chan. Let's go see her."

Shino nodded and walked alongside Naruto as they began to walk to Sakura's home. He noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes and there weren't any near the scene of the assault. His bugs were now familiar with Naruto's new scent and he sent a few off in search of Naruto's shoes, he figured she must have lost them in a chase.

Naruto and Shino eventually came to Sakura's door. Naruto looked down at the ground as Shino knocked on the door.

"Hold on a minute, I'm coming!" Sakura called out from behind the door. A few moments later the door opened to reveal Sakura wearing boy shorts and a spaghetti strapped, form fitting tank top. Her hair was dripping slightly. Shino figured that she must have just gotten out of the bath or shower.

"Shino-san, Naru-chan? What do you need?" Sakura asked.

Shino answered calmly and professionally, "I'm bringing Hitomi-san to you under protocol 134.6a. She has expressed preference to have you as her medic rather than be taken to a hospital."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror as she recognized the code as the protocol for the care of the victim of a sexual assault or rape, "T-thank you, Shino. I'll take care of her now." She then turned her attention to Naruto, "Come up to my room."

Shino nodded in acceptance as Sakura took Naruto into her house and closed the door. He then immediately set off for the Hokage's Tower in order to deliver his incident report.

* * *

Tsunade was pouring over all the information she could find about the Eight Trigrams Seal. After uncovering the fact that the seal weakens the most during childbirth, Tsunade had put two and two together to figure out what the Kyuubi was trying. He wanted Naruto pregnant so he could have a chance to escape during the childbirth. However, being male this was impossible for Naruto, so Kyuubi had to change the rules.

To Tsunade, the trick was underhanded and dirty, but something that should have been expected from the cunning, evil fox. Now, with the legendary sealing abilities of the Uzumaki clan lost forever to time when their clan was destroyed, there was only one man on the planet that could keep the seal in place should the unthinkable happen and Naruto ended up with child. That one man was Jiraiya, who had learned fuinjutsu from Minato and Kushina.

Tsunade was about to call for Shizune and inform her to gather Naruto and Jiraiya when said med-nin entered the office of her own accord.

"Good, Shizune..." Tsunade started but was cut off as Shizune started talking over her.

"I'm sorry for intruding, Tsunade-sama, but Shino Aburame from Team Kurenai has just showed up and he has a report to make. He said it was a 134.6."

Tsunade immediately stopped her train of thought when Shizune had started talking about a sexual assault. It wasn't like there wasn't another time she could inform Naruto and Jiraiya of her findings. "Bring him in."

Shizune excused herself and in a few moments later returned with Shino in tow.

"You have a report to make, Shino?" Tsunade asked as she sat behind the desk, her hands folded in front of the lower half of her face.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Shino replied respectfully, "I witnessed and aided in stopping a sexual assault in the eastern residential district this evening. I've come to make a report as per protocol 134.6."

"First things first, victim and perpetrator?" Tsunade asked.

"Perpetrators in this case, Tsunade-sama." Shino stated, "I caught Chunin Aki Genkai and Special Jonin Yu Watanabe sexually assaulting and attempting to rape probationary Genin Hitomi Naru."

Tsunade couldn't school her emotions quickly enough as they warred on her face in response to hearing that it was Naruto, whom she loved like a son, or daughter as the case may be now, had been the victim. She couldn't even catalog everything she felt at that moment. Anger, worry, sadness, and a myriad of other emotions tugged at her before she managed to continue on with the report. "I want a detailed report now."

Shino nodded and started his story, "I do not know what happened before I showed up, or how the situation developed. I was walking home after some personal training exercises at training ground 29 when I heard the sounds of men laughing and a struggle. Deciding to investigate, I took to the rooftops to see what was going on. When I finally found the source of commotion, I saw Chunin Genkai with his pants down approaching Genin Naru, who was being restrained by Special Jonin Watanabe in such a manner as to prevent the use of handsigns. Seeing the manner of the way Chunin Genkai approached Genin Naru and noticing a pair of ripped panties laying on the ground, I judged the scene to be a sexual assault and sent my kikai bugs to drain the chakra of Chunin Genkai, who was the more pressing threat to Genin Naru's well being, and another bug to inform ANBU of the situation. My bugs quickly drained him of enough chakra to cause him to fall unconscious. This provided a momentary distraction for Genin Naru whom took advantage of the situation and broke free of Special Jonin Watanabe and disabled him with a Raiton jutsu. I then sent enough of my insects at Watanabe to make sure he wouldn't regain consciousness until ANBU arrived. Naru, after disabling Watanabe, began to viciously attack Genkai, I believe she intended to kill him. I stopped Naru's assault and tried to convince her to head to the hospital as per protocol 134.6a. However, she refused to be admitted to a hospital. Seeing no other recourse, I escorted her to the home of Chunin Sakura Haruno as Genin Naru was willing to allow Haruno to do the necessary examinations. As soon as Naru was safely inside Haruno's residence, I came here to make my report."

Tsunade looked at the young Aburame evenly, "How far did the assault go?"

Shino shook his head, "I do not know, Hokage-sama. I could not see from my vantage point."

Tsunade sighed, she hoped beyond hope that those bastards hadn't managed to go all the way, "You did well, Shino, thank you."

Shino nodded and excused himself from the office, leaving Tsunade and Shizune.

"Shizune, contact Sakura. I want a full medical report as soon as she is done with the examination." Tsunade ordered. "And if she has Naruto with her still, I want her here too."

"Yes, ma'am." Shizune said as she left the office.

* * *

Sakura's hands glowed as she ran the diagnostic jutsus to determine what damage, if any, had been inflicted. For Naruto, the process was tedious and long. All she wanted to do was go home and forget that the whole thing had even happened.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief as she let the jutsu dissipate, "You're in perfect shape, no damage to anything internally."

"I told you I was okay." Naruto replied.

"How are you holding up?" Sakura asked in concern. When they were in the academy, all kunoichi were told about the extra dangers faced by women on the battlefield. She had hoped then that she would never have to go through anything like that, and she still did. It was hard to believe that it was Naruto that had it had happened to.

"I'm fine." Naruto replied curtly, "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Naruto, it's not good to bottle these things up..." Sakura tried to get the blonde to open up.

"No, Sakura." Naruto replied, "I'm not talking about it anymore, just leave me alone."

Sakura tried to say something else, but Naruto didn't give her the chance, "Are you done? I want to go home now."

Before Sakura could respond her phone rang, She looked at Naruto sadly before picking up, "Hello?"

"Sakura, this is Shizune." the voice came from the other side, "Are you done with the examination on Naru-chan?"

"Yes, I am. I was about to let her go." Sakura replied.

"Tsunade-sama wants to talk to both of you as soon as possible." Shizune said, "Please come now."

"Okay." Sakura said as she hung up the phone.

"So I can go?" Naruto asked, eager to forget the whole ordeal.

"Well, I'm done with the exam, but that was Shizune. Tsunade-sama wants to see both of us right now."

"Great." Naruto said sarcastically, "Now I'm going to have to put up with her questions."

"Come on, Naruto. She wants to see us now." Sakura said.

* * *

Shortly afterwards, Naruto and Sakura were sitting in front of Tsunade, who was leaning against the front of her desk.

"I guess we should start with the medical report." Tsunade suggested.

"There was nothing wrong with Naru-chan's medical examination. Apparently things were stopped before they went too far. There was no traces of semen and Naru-chan's hymen was still intact." Sakura made her report.

Tsunade was relieved to hear that at least the bastards that had done this to Naruto hadn't managed to get that far. She turned her gaze to Naruto, "Shino has already made his report, but I need to know the whole story. What happened, Naruto?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Naruto denied.

"Naruto, I need to know exactly what happened if I'm going to charge these guys with anything." Tsunade pressed.

Naruto looked back at Tsunade, "I just want to forget what happened, please."

Sakura tried to comfort Naruto, "Just this once, then no one will ask you about it again."

Naruto looked between Sakura and Tsunade and sighed. She tried to tell her story with a distant coldness, "Hinata and I had spent most of the day together hanging out. I had just walked her home and was heading back to my new apartment when that bastard Aki or whatever came up and wrapped his arm around me. He started with just asking questions and I answered while slipping out from under his arm. Eventually, he tried to put his arm around me again and started touching me in a way I didn't like. I told him to get the hell off me and pushed him away. He then grabbed me from behind and tried coming on to me again. I stomped on his foot, pretty sure I broke his toe. It never should have happened..."

"What do you mean, Naru-chan?" Sakura asked.

"I could have beat that guy senseless." Naruto replied, "I might not be completely used to what I can do in this body yet, but that guy was weak."

"Then why didn't you?" Sakura questioned again, slightly confused about why, if Naruto was so sure she could stop it, she didn't.

"Because, I'm on probation." Naruto replied, "I was thinking that if I ended up fighting with that guy in the middle of the street, then I would have got in a lot of trouble. Especially since he would probably say I started it. I can't be the Hokage if I'm not even allowed in the country, so I ran instead."

"What happened after that?" Tsunade answered.

"Well, I was wearing heels at the time and they were slowing me down, so I kicked them off and took off. There was no way he was going to catch me. But, I was so focused on the first guy that I didn't notice the second guy was around. I ducked into a alley, intending to take to the rooftops, but I ran into the second guy. Before I could react he grabbed both of my arms and turned me around so my back was to him with my arms crossed in front of me so I couldn't make the handsigns to use jutsu. I tried to get free, but he was stronger then me, and then that Aki guy caught up. They started doing... things." Towards the end of her story Naruto had started to break down again.

"And then that's when Shino showed up?" Tsunade asked.

"Y-yeah." Naruto nodded. She wiped tears from her face.

"Okay." Tsunade said as she walked over to Naruto, "It's okay now. I'll make sure those bastards never see the light of day again."

Naruto nodded, not trusting her voice to say anything else.

"I'm sorry for having to make you relive it so soon after it happened, Naruto." Tsunade consoled her, "You can go home now, and I can send you with an escort if you like."

"Thanks." Naruto nodded and stood, "I'll be okay by myself." Tsunade nodded and allowed the blonde girl to leave.

Soon afterwards, Sakura stood as well, "I still don't understand. If she could have stopped it, why didn't she?"

"Because she was trying to preserve her dream." Tsunade replied, "She's right, if she had fought at the first, then the bastard might have tried to play it off as her jumping him. Since it would have been his word versus hers, the council probably would have kicked her out regardless. While I hope I can fix what happened, there's the chance that there's nothing that can be done and Naruto will have to live as a woman for the rest of her life. She's thinking ahead."

"Still..." Sakura started.

"She has a lot to learn. Obviously, she has to be more aware of her surroundings, that too would have helped her get away. But she's beginning to understand that, just because one path is easier or more convenient, it's not always the best long-term choice. All the physical strength or jutsu strength in the world won't help you become Hokage if you don't have the strength of the mind to back it up." Tsunade commented, "Hopefully, she'll keep progressing. Though I sincerely hope she never has to go through another situation like that again."

* * *

A/N

I'm extremely happy with the response I got from the last chapter, and awesome 17 reviews. I hope I resolved the situation in a way that you all enjoyed, and, be honest, how many of you expected Shino to be the one to come to the rescue?

Anyway to address some questions left in some reviews.

I think I answered it in this chapter, but some of you seem to think that Naruto was simply overpowered in the last chapter. This wasn't the case, as Yu caught Naruto off guard which allowed him to restrain her. After that, he was able to overpower her.

Also, I've seen it brought up numerous times about that I'm overplaying how much the village hates Naruto. Maybe, I've played it up a little bit, in order for it to be a valid reason for Naruto to want to have a new identity. However, just because most of the village would respect him after taking out Gaara and some of the other things he's accomplished, not necessarily everyone would like him. Aki just happened to be one of those. On a similar note, not everyone would know what happens to the demon when the jinchuuriki is killed.

Last thing was about Hinata and Naruto's dress. Naruto wasn't really overdressed as she was wearing an ivory sundress with matching heels. Remember that Naruto is new to all this, so she didn't know exactly what was going on. Hinata, on the other hand, did overdress, but just think about who she is and who asked her out for a moment, then you'll grasp why she overdressed. She was trying to make a best impression she could on her first date with Naruto.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the newest installment of A Woman's Heart and Mind. Please review if you read, I would really like to see another 17 reviews.


	8. Venting

A Woman's Heart and Mind

Chapter 8 – Venting

Naruto raged at the nearby stone pillar. Her punches and kicks denting the rock or chipping it away slowly. She was still in a fit about everything that had happened over the last few days. She pushed herself harder than she ever had before, intent on never being put in that sort of situation again. If ninjas from her home village were willing to do those sorts of things, then what would her enemies do to her if they caught her like that? That thought made her shiver every time it crossed her mind.

"That's enough, we're done for today." Kakashi said. He had taken back over Naruto's training while Jiraiya was out gathering information on Akatsuki. "You did well Hitomi."

"No, I'm not done yet." Naruto refused to stop. If anything she struck at the stone harder. She kept imagining the faces of her attackers on the stones, and she lashed out at them in fury. Her features grew dangerous, her eyes reddened. "I have to get stronger."

Kakashi was between her and the pillar in a flash, catching her foot. "I'm tired of this, and Sakura is exhausted. We are done, and you know you aren't allowed to use the training grounds alone, not while on probation."

Naruto looked over to see a visibly spent Sakura, doubled over, hands on her knees, gasping for breath. She was strong, stronger physically than Naruto, but Konoha's newest kunoichi had better stamina, for obvious reasons. "So what?" Naruto asked, a pout on her face and annoyance clear in her voice, "You're still fine. Teach me something."

Kakashi shook his head. "Not while you are like this. You get unstable when you are angry like this, I don't want to risk letting you use jutsus. You get your mind sorted out, then I can show you a few things. Until then, it's nothing but taijutsu. But, I'm tired too, and I'm done for the day."

Naruto eyed Kakashi hatefully while the Jonin let go of Naruto's leg. With a huff of indignation, she said, "Fine, whatever." A couple of moments later she was gone, shunshining back to the village.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes." The pinkette replied, "Winded, but I'm okay."

"Keep an eye on her." Kakashi said, "She's too angry. She might try to do something rash and get in trouble."

* * *

Naruto leapt from roof to roof. Not wanting to talk or see anyone. She was angry, at her weakness, at the two bastards who had tried to rape her, at Kyuubi for making all this happen to her, at everyone. She made it back to her new apartment and slammed the door. Her phone rang, but she didn't care who was calling and just let it ring, the answering machine disconnected. She stripped out of her gear and headed into the shower, hoping that would help her cool off.

It didn't.

About an hour later she had wound her way to Ichiraku Ramen. Slipping into the little stand she waved at old man Ichiraku, completely forgetting that she hadn't yet told him of her transformation. She wasn't wearing anything that would tell him that she was a ninja, wearing a pair of jean shorts that were a little tighter and shorter than he would have liked, and a light blue, spaghetti strapped tank top. She really needed to stop listening to Ino's fashion advice, the shorts were horrible.

"Hello, young lady. Not often we see a new customer. What brings you to Konoha?" Teuchi asked her. It was then she realized that he didn't know about her circumstances.

Looking around to make sure they were alone she crept up the counter closer. "It's me old man, Naruto."

"Naruto?" the man said perhaps a bit too loudly, "Why are you coming in here henged into a woman."

Naruto shushed him to tell him to keep his voice down, "I'm not in a henge, and I am a girl now. It's complicated. It has to do with my tenant." The old man was old enough to know that Naruto was the jinchuuriki of the fox.

"The fox turned you into a girl?" Teuchi asked. Naruto nodded, "Damn fox." The man cursed. It took Naruto aback for a second, she rarely heard Teuchi curse. Never, now that she thought about it.

"My name is Hitomi Naru now." Naruto said softly.

"I heard some guys talking about a Hitomi Naru…" Teuchi said, "They said there had been a near rape in one of the residential district, a couple of ninjas had been taken into custody. My lord! That was you?"

"Yeah… I don't really want to talk about it…" Naruto answered. "I just wanted to get some ramen. I'm trying to start over fresh, which means trying to let go of my old habits and make new ones, but I can still enjoy a good bowl of ramen now and then."

"Yeah, I'll get you one with everything, on the house." Teuchi said.

"Thanks, old man." Naruto answered, genuine appreciation on her voice.

* * *

The small dialogue with Teuchi had stilled Naruto's mind a litte, but not much. She was still angry, furious, enraged. He couldn't determine which fit his mood more. The sun was going down, and the village was starting to turn in for the night. Shops were closing and locking up, the children off the streets. There was a stillness to the air, not a silence, Konoha was too large to ever be completely silent, but there was definitely a stillness.

Naruto walked idly, trying anything to keep her mind off her anger. She wanted those bastards dead. However, they weren't going to be executed. Tsunade had told her their charges. Both had gotten sexual assault, attempted rape, and assault on a fellow ninja. However, none of those carried the death penalty, maybe if they had actually got to finish their heinous crime, but not for just the attempt. No, the maximum sentence was seventy years. Tsunade told him they were more than likely to get forty for "honorable services rendered in the defense of the village". That then would be cut to twenty-five if they behaved well in the prison and got eligible for parole.

It was too good for them. They should die for what they did to her, what they tried to do. No one should ever be forced to have to go through that fear that she had felt when she realized that she had let herself run into a trap. If they were just going to kill her, well, Naruto could have handled that. She was trained for that. However, they didn't want to kill her. They had wanted to break her, abuse her, and turn her into their own little sexual object to use. That was how she saw it, and it ate at her.

Before she had really known where she was going, her legs had taken her to Ninja Ops. The two bastards were being held in cells in the basement, watched over by ANBU. Naruto had snuck in there before, and she had outrun ANBU before. Yes, she would make sure that they would pay dearly for their crimes against her.

She slipped into the building silently, working her way down into the basements, careful to avoid notice. ANBU patrolled down here regularly, various important records and secrets kept in vaults that were guarded every hour of every day. The two lowlife scums would be in the lowest basement, awaiting their trial.

She was almost there when she felt herself getting weaker, as though something were draining her strength. That's when she heard a faint buzzing sound. Looking behind her she saw the familiar coat and shades. Damn him. His face was the last thing she saw before she passed out.

* * *

She awoke again a couple of hours later, the moon hanging high in the sky. Street lamps below her were doing their best to mimic the stars in the sky above. Looking around, she realized that she was on top of the Hokage Monument, a place she often frequented on her own. To her right, Shino sat there, still watching over her. Damn that man to hell.

"Why in the hell did you stop me?" Naruto snapped, "It wasn't any business of yours."

"I did it because it needed doing." Shino's answer was simple, "I figured you might try something like this in your anger. Someone needed to protect you from doing something that would have been regretful."

"I didn't ask for your help, Shino." Naruto huffed, "Those bastards deserve everything I would give them and worse."

"That may be true." Shino replied, never raising his voice. Never showing any hint of emotion, "However, that is not for you to determine. They will be tried fairly."

"That's more than they should get." Naruto raged, "They hurt me, Shino. Maybe not physically, but I have nightmares about it sometimes. I think what would have happened if they had gone all the way, if you hadn't shown up. Every time, I curse myself for not doing more to stop it. It eats at me, even more than those stares I got when I was a kid."

"So you would hurt them?" Shino asked, "To satisfy your own want for vengeance? Do you see where that leads Hitomi? You become no better than they. Thinking that you can do whatever you wish to them because you deserve it or are entitled to it."

Naruto seethed as she stared at him. "This isn't the same thing at all, Shino. I am the victim here."

"Isn't it? You would still be preying on the weak because you are strong. They are locked in chakra draining cells, barely awake half the day. They would be as helpless before you as children." Shino stated calmly, in opposition to Naruto's rage filled words.

Naruto stood up and started to storm off, but a wall of bugs blocked her way. "Let me go, Shino." She said with a dangerous tone, one that said that she would not hesitate to hurt him.

"So you would attack me, an innocent, and the one who saved you, to quench your thirst for vengeance?" Shino asked calmly, his bugs still blocking her path. "You would go that far?"

"Goddamn it, Shino." Naruto stomped her foot as she cursed at him, "This is pissing me off. I need to do something about this. If I kill them now this all goes away, and I can get on with my life."

"Do you really think that?" Shino never let up with his questions, "Or are you merely telling yourself that it will be okay once they are taken care of? Nothing will change what they did to you Hitomi. Even if they pass on, your memories will still be there. Vengeance will not help you, you have to strive to find peace with it and move on. This is the lesson that Uchiha never learned."

The dropping of Sasuke's name was a timely one, and shocked Naruto into stillness. She thought back over the last few days and really examined what she had been doing. So consumed had she been by her anger and hatred that she never realized she had been acting exactly like her old friend. She withdrew from people, and got angry at anyone who stood in her way. She walked up beside Shino and sat on the ground, looking out over the village. "Damn it, Shino. I hate it, but you're right…"

Shino didn't say another word as she thought on his words. "But I still feel like I need to do something about it. Do something to make sure that these bastards never hurt anyone else."

"Testify." Shino replied simply. "I know you don't want to, that the memories hurt. However, if the jury can see just how close those two came, and how much they hurt you, they will be much less inclined to give out reduces sentences, no matter what the two men did during the Suna invasion."

She looked up at him, "You're right… It's the only way. I'll go tell Obaachan in the morning that I'm changing my stance on testifying." They sat in silence for a while both of them just looking out over the village. Finally, she turned to him, "How did you find me anyway? I never told anyone what I was doing, and I never planned it. It just happened in the spur of the moment."

Shino held up a little bug, "I planted a female bug on you as we walked to Sakura's that night. I worried about you and decided to keep an eye on you, in case you needed help again. I constantly sent males to you, who can track the female by her pheromones. When they came back to me, they could tell me exactly where you were. When they said you were heading to the Ops building, I knew exactly what you were planning."

Naruto looked at the small bug, impressed that Shino had such a skill. "Thanks, Shino. That's twice you saved my neck…" She responded. She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. That was what she was supposed to do, right? A nice man helps a woman out and he gets repaid with a small kiss on the cheek.

"I owe you." She said as they continued to stare out onto the village. "If I can ever do anything to help you, let me know." Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Shino. Was he blushing? What would he be blushing for? No, Shino didn't blush. Shino never showed emotion. Frankly, Naruto wondered if Shino even had emotions. It had to be the lack of light playing tricks on her or something.

* * *

A/N: Please don't kill me. I know it's been a LONG time since I released anything. I just kind of lost my muse (and rediscovered World of Warcraft). I can't promise any sort of regular update schedule. I'm going to aim for every week or two, but I'm not promising anything.

It also looks like Hinata might have a rival she wouldn't be expecting. How far can things progress between Naruto and Shino?

Please review and let me know what you think.


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